Benitez subdued despite PSV victory
Liverpool stars Steven Gerrard and Peter Crouch will tell you that their boss Rafael Benitez rarely dishes out praise to his stars.
And Benitez was true to form last night after Gerrard’s starring role in Liverpool’s 2-0 Champions League victory over PSV Eindhoven which clinched top spot in Group C, with a trip to Galatasaray still to come.
Benitez said of his skipper’s goalscoring performance in central midfield against the Dutch champions: “Steven knows he can do better than that.”
But deep down Benitez knows that Gerrard’s return to his favoured central midfield role has been the catalyst to Liverpool’s continued good form in Europe - a sharp contrast to their Premier League form.
Benitez said of Gerrard’s display: “It was another goal for him and he played with confidence, and the team were happy to see that from him.
“But he knows he can play better than that and must keep working at what he does.”
PSV boss Ronald Koeman found it much easier to hail Gerrard’s display, maintaining it was the difference between the sides.
Koeman said: “The quality of Gerrard was outstanding, it was an excellent midfield performance and was something we could not match.”
Benitez was perhaps subdued because of the injuries picked up by three of his players.
Chile winger Mark Gonzalez has a torn hamstring and could be out for at least three weeks, while Jermaine Pennant has a strained hamstring and is very doubtful for Saturday’s home league game with Manchester City.
Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso was also taken off in the Anfield match with a leg muscle injury.
Benitez said: “We are very pleased with the victory, it was good for the players, the fans and the whole club.
“But to lose three players with injuries is a high price. It made it a very hard match to manage, when you see players being taken off like that – two in the first half – it does limit what you can do as a manager.
“We found ourselves having to use Luis Garcia, who was not 100% after being out for three weeks with a calf injury, while Bolo Zenden too, was forced into the game without any warm-up because the injuries happened so quickly.”
Koeman was critical of his own side’s overall play, and said: “We did not do too badly, we did not give away possession but our build-up play from the back let us down.
“We have dangerous players up front but if we do not get the ball to them properly, we will not score goals.
“A lot of our play was really sloppy, if you do that you do not create much up front.”
Koeman, who confirmed that he lost Phillip Cocu with a fever just before the match, added: “We were not prepared to risk him because of the important games we have coming up.
“It would have been good to have won at Anfield, but playing away to Liverpool is very different to playing Galatasaray and Bordeaux on their own grounds.
“We know we have qualified, but we still want to end the group with a victory against Bordeaux in our last match. That would send us into the winter in good spirits.”
