Balotelli tucked away the spot kick to earn the hosts a narrow first-leg lead in their last 32 encounter, but only after an apparent disagreement with Henderson, the captain on the night, and Daniel Sturridge over who would take it.
Gerrard, who is injured, and normally much less outspoken, openly criticised Balotelli for his behaviour.
"Jordan should have taken the penalty. Rules are rules. It should have been Henderson. Mario has been a bit mischievous," Gerrard told ITV.
"Credit to Mario, he's scored, but it's not nice to see when footballers are arguing.
Balotelli slots away the spot kick
"I think Jordan has handled the situation very well. He can see that Mario really wanted to score.
"Jordan walked away at the right moment and handled his post-match interview very well.
"Jordan is the captain and Mario showed Jordan a bit of disrespect there, but he's scored a very important goal. I think six or seven players would have wanted to take that penalty so if they all say they are taking it, what happens then? Rules are in place for a reason."
Henderson tried to play down the disagreement after the match, and insisted he was happy with the way it panned out.
"Jordan is the captain and Mario showed Jordan a bit of disrespect there, but he's scored a very important goal."
Steven Gerrard
"I wanted the penalty, Mario felt confident and he has taken big penalties before," Henderson said.
"Everyone wants to take them. I felt confident in Mario, he has taken big penalties before and he got the nod."
Balotelli also tried defuse the furore by turning to social media to insist there was no problem.
"Thank you Hendo for let me take the penalty. Stop drama now. We won that's what it count," Balotelli tweeted.
Rodgers quiet on penalty incident
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher also turned to social media to give his views, and backed the Italian for stepping forward.
"It was obvious Sturridge was supposed to take it and looked a little peeved along with Henderson, but at that moment the best penalty taker Liverpool had on the pitch was Balotelli as we've seen with his spot kicks for Man City," Carragher said.
"So in this instance I was ok with it because the main penalty taker wasn't on the pitch in Gerrard."
He later tweeted: "Also just heard it was Henderson supposed to be on them not Sturridge, more reason for Mario to take it!!!"
Sauce:http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11669/9722425/mario-balotelli-showed-disrespect-in-penalty-row-says-steven-gerrard

I have a lot of respect for steven gerrard but he has not been fair to mario,knowing how the media likes to court him he should have played the incident down rather than add fire to it.

EMEzzy:
I have a lot of respect for steven gerrard but he has not been fair to mario,knowing how the media likes to court him he should have played the incident down rather than add fire to it.

Just my thought too.

what if hen derson did not score?gerald be a good captain

thegoodjoehunt3:
I agree with you here. It was an important penalty and Balotelli is one of the best penalty takers of all time. Balo's point was clear. The best should take it and Henderson the captain gave Balo the nod.

Gerard running his mouth on air is just to complicate an issue that was well handled.

I was most disappointed with sturridge,he acted very unprofesional.
I learnt 2 things from this incident : 1) When gerrard leaves skrtel should be made captain and henderson remain vice captain.
2) Sturridge has too much influence on henderson.
Am glad gerrard is not going to be a pundit when he retires,if not we would be here discussing his stray comment weekly.

tefund:
what if hen derson did not score?gerald be a good captain

If it is a penalty to save my life,i'd pick balotelli without thinking...stats dont lie : baloteli - played 29 pk scored 28
henderson - played 0 pk scored 0. Lol

Barton is a guy i like very much because he doesnt sugar coat words and isnt afraid to say what everyone is thinking...Barton wrote on Twitter: "Can't believe people getting on Balotelli. He is technically better at penalties than Henderson. He pulled rank. Scored. End of.
"I've been critical of him at times. But it's not Balotelli's fault people over hyped the reality. Get off his case. He's doing better.
"If Balotelli's on the pitch and its him or Henderson on a penalty to save your life? Who you gonna let take it? #nobrainer
"Surprised Gerrard allowed himself to be drawn into the anti-Balotelli brigade's crusade. He's better than that."
QPR man Barton didn't stop there though, and went on to question Henderson's potential to follow Gerrard into Liverpool folklore.
"Contrary to some people beliefs Jordan Henderson will not now or will he ever be even in the same stratosphere as Steven Gerrard," he added.
"Anyone who thinks he will replace Gerrard, short, medium or long term is deluded. Even Brendon knows he's bullshi_ting when he says it.
"Deluded": Barton has rubbished comparisons between Henderson and Gerrard
"Someone somewhere trying to make Henderson heir to Gerrard's throne. It will end in tears. He isn't and will never be capable. Not many are.
"Heard about Henderson getting told by Rodgers to grab England captain's armband if Rooney goes off. He tried Rooney rightly jogged him on.
"Wearing armbands. Trying to impersonate legends is admirable but will end in tears because it's not genuine. Henderson should be himself.
"He is great at being himself. Much better than trying to be a Steven Gerrard clone. You can't copy what SG had. Talent."