Monday, April 05, 2010

Rafael Benitez Pleased With ‘Great Performance’ Against Birmingham City

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has praised his side following Sunday’s 1-1 draw away to Birmingham City.

The Reds took the lead through Steven Gerrard just a minute into the second half but were denied the win after Liam Ridgewell’s close range equaliser.

Yet despite dropping points in the race to grab fourth place and the last Champions League spot, the Liverpool boss insisted he was happy with his team's display.

"It was a great performance, we had a great chance in the first-half and in the second-half you can see at the end we have a lot of chances," Benitez told BBC Sport.

The Reds boss also admitted he was frustrated at the "silly" goal conceded by his side but was happy with his players’ response after Liam Ridgewell’s equaliser.

Benitez added: "It was a silly goal, when you concede, it is not the best but in this way it's the worst.

"The reaction of the team was good, we were attacking and creating a lot of chances.

"We are disappointed because it was a good performance."

Fernando Torres was replaced by David Ngog after 65 minutes and Benitez explained that he substituted the Spaniard because of tiredness.

He added: "He [Torres] was exhausted, we played 60 minutes with 10 players the other day.

"[David] Ngog was good for us because he was a pair of fresh legs. His movement was good for the team."

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