Benitez: Only playing time can help Morientes
Rafael Benitez believes keeping Fernando Morientes on the pitch is the only way to help the Spaniard out of his barren spell.
The Liverpool boss stunned the Kop on Sunday by withdrawing the impressive Peter Crouch from the 1-0 victory over Manchester City, rather than the misfiring Morientes.
For the first time in Benitez’s reign as Liverpool manager, one of his decisions was booed by the home fans, who idolise their manager but are running out of patience with Spain international Morientes.
He is in the middle of a wretched run that sees him scoreless in his last 11 appearances for the European champions.
But Benitez said: “He cannot solve the problem when he is sitting on the bench.”
The Spaniard used the same policy when Crouch was going through his nightmare spell without hitting the net earlier in the season, keeping him in the side despite derision from critics.
Morientes, who has spent 14 unconvincing months at Anfield, has managed just nine goals in 49 games for Liverpool. This term he has hit just three league goals and six in 33 games overall.
Benitez sees only one way to solve the crisis: “I was hoping to see Morientes score, Crouch managed to get one in the cup against Manchester United and it would have been good for Fernando to also get on the scoresheet.
“It would have given him more confidence. But if you want to see your strikers scoring goals you cannot leave them out.
“If you want to support one player then you need to keep him on the pitch, taking him off does not achieve anything.
“Fernando is a good finisher. His career figures show that. He has scored many goals wherever he has played.
“Now he needs more confidence. And if you want to give him that then he needs to play, he cannot change the situation when he is not on the pitch.”
Liverpool’s lack of goals is costing them second spot, having drawn level with Manchester United but with a hopelessly inferior goal difference. The victory over City was their 10th 1-0 win of the campaign.
They have not scored more than one goal in a game since the December 28 win at Everton.
Their success has been founded on 28 clean sheets, 12 at home in the league and 18 away. Jose Reina has managed 24 of those shut-outs with Liverpool conceding only five in 14 home league games.
Even Benitez is now showing signs of concern. He said: “I decided to use Morientes and Crouch because they have a good understanding. And they played well.
“They worked hard, created chances, they kept possession and fed the ball to the midfielders and wingers, but the problem is we need to score more. When that happens everyone will have more confidence.
“It is becoming nervous for me too. The positive is another victory, another clean sheet and another three points.
“But when you create as many chances as we are then you have to score more goals.
“We put ourselves under pressure. When we do not score then the players do not have confidence and lose the ball. It makes it worse for the team.
“If you make mistakes you become more nervous and if you are nervous you make more mistakes.
"It is a vicious circle.
“The only way to break this circle is to score more, certainly the second goal when you go ahead.
“Fernando is playing really well outside the box. He is keeping possession and passing well and he gives us good options.
“But inside the box we need to finish the chances, he needs to be a little more selfish.
“We are now level with Manchester United, that is very important and it keeps us going in the direction that we want.
“Also it has opened up a gap between ourselves and the teams below, that brings us closer to achieving our targets.”
For Manchester City chief Stuart Pearce the first target must be to achieve better away results, having taken only four points from 11 away league matches since early September.
He said: “We did not give them a good game, and too many did not do a good shift for me. Morally they didn’t want the ball and didn’t hold on to the ball.
“We did not believe enough and we did not get after Liverpool enough, and our best spell was after we went down to 10 men with (Joey) Barton sent off.”
He added: “Everyone will view what we did as acceptable and we have a ready made excuse, but that does not wash with me. We were apprehensive with the ball. If you see things as a manager, people have got to be told and it is how they respond to that now.”
