Liverpool set to fine Balotelli for shirt swap at half-time
Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli is expected to be fined by manager Brendan Rodgers after swapping shirts with Real Madrid's Pepe with his side 3-0 down at half-time.
The sight of Balotelli exchanging shirts with defender Pepe as they walked down the tunnel was the last thing fans wanted to see after another lacklustre Liverpool display and it was no surprise the Italy international did not reappear for the second half.
It took the defending European champions just 18 first-half minutes to dismantle what Liverpool thought was a good platform having enjoyed some early pressure at Anfield.
From the moment Cristiano Ronaldo's touch of class saw him score his first ever goal at Anfield - edging him to within one of equalling Raul's Champions League record of 71 - there was an inevitability to the two goals which followed from striker Karim Benzema, who converted a far-post cross with ease and then converted a defensive calamity at a corner.
Rodgers insisted removing Balotelli was tactical, but said the shirt-swapping was something he will deal with internally - having dealt with a similar situation with defender Mamadou Sakho last season, when he and Samuel Eto'o swapped shirts at half-time.
"We had an incident with a player last year (Mamadou Sakho) and that was something we dealt with internally," said Rodgers.
"It is not something I stand for. If you want to do that you do it at the end of the game. It is something I will deal with."
On his decision to substitute Balotelli at half-time Rodgers added: "It was purely tactical. I felt we needed a bit more movement centrally to occupy the centre-halves and Raheem's speed and movement would give us that.
"Adam Lallana came on and he was tireless. In the second half every single player was pressing and working wanting to get something from the game and for us the minimum here.
"Adam came on and did that very well. In fairness to Raheem playing in a position that was a bit alien to him he worked tirelessly all the way through and showed quality."