Rafa Benitez insists he was not surprised when Yossi Benayoun headed the winning goal in the Bernabeu - and claims the diminutive Israeli can be Liverpool's secret weapon from set pieces.
The 28-year-old scored arguably the biggest goal of his Reds career following a cross from Fabio Aurelio to secure a 1-0 win against Real Madrid last week.
Benitez does not believe it was a one off, and hopes the header will fill his in-form winger with confidence as Liverpool enter the business end of 2008-09.
"Clearly Yossi will take confidence from this goal because it was the winning goal in such an important game," said the gaffer.
"It was funny because after the game we were on the coach and we were watching it again on video, and some of the players were laughing because they had not expected Yossi to score this kind of goal.
"But I was not surprised about it because I know that he can do this type of thing.
"I was talking to him recently because he is really good when we are defending corners and it is clear that he is able to win headers.
"He is also a very clever player with good movements, so there is no reason why he cannot also be a threat in the opposition box when we have set plays."
Benayoun's form has been one of the plusses of 2009 so far.
Benitez added: "I have been talking with my staff about Yossi and we all agree that he has been playing very well recently.
"When you get to this stage of the season it can sometimes be that players are getting tired but in Yossi's case we have been able to see in training and in games that he is looking good and doing well.
"Yossi is an intelligent player who makes good movements.
"He can beat players, he can keep the ball between the lines and he is very good at spotting the opportunity for the final pass.
"He can provide assists for the other players and he can also score important goals, as we saw against Real Madrid last week.
"Like I said, he is a player with quality and game intelligence.
"He can change games. Hopefully he will be a key player for the rest of the season.
"We always talk about the importance of a squad – the players on the bench and those who are not involved in every game. Yossi is a very good example. Everyone has to be ready."
The 28-year-old scored arguably the biggest goal of his Reds career following a cross from Fabio Aurelio to secure a 1-0 win against Real Madrid last week.
Benitez does not believe it was a one off, and hopes the header will fill his in-form winger with confidence as Liverpool enter the business end of 2008-09.
"Clearly Yossi will take confidence from this goal because it was the winning goal in such an important game," said the gaffer.
"It was funny because after the game we were on the coach and we were watching it again on video, and some of the players were laughing because they had not expected Yossi to score this kind of goal.
"But I was not surprised about it because I know that he can do this type of thing.
"I was talking to him recently because he is really good when we are defending corners and it is clear that he is able to win headers.
"He is also a very clever player with good movements, so there is no reason why he cannot also be a threat in the opposition box when we have set plays."
Benayoun's form has been one of the plusses of 2009 so far.
Benitez added: "I have been talking with my staff about Yossi and we all agree that he has been playing very well recently.
"When you get to this stage of the season it can sometimes be that players are getting tired but in Yossi's case we have been able to see in training and in games that he is looking good and doing well.
"Yossi is an intelligent player who makes good movements.
"He can beat players, he can keep the ball between the lines and he is very good at spotting the opportunity for the final pass.
"He can provide assists for the other players and he can also score important goals, as we saw against Real Madrid last week.
"Like I said, he is a player with quality and game intelligence.
"He can change games. Hopefully he will be a key player for the rest of the season.
"We always talk about the importance of a squad – the players on the bench and those who are not involved in every game. Yossi is a very good example. Everyone has to be ready."
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