Rafa Benitez claims it was unrealistic to expect Liverpool to win the Premier League title this season.
As the inquest into Liverpool’s disappointing domestic campaign rages on, Benitez says it was always going to be difficult for them to better finishing runners-up last term.
The Reds boss claims injuries also took a heavy toll on his squad, who look like missing out on the Champions League place.
“At the beginning of the season expectations were too high,” he said. “That is normal after such a good season.
“But I always say the same – the Premier League is the Premier League and the difference in money is so big that if you want to stay at this level for a while, you have to do almost everything perfectly.
“That’s not easy when you push and push because sometimes you cannot keep the players working so hard or at the level they were in the previous season.
“During pre-season we also had players coming back late and then we had injuries. We’ve had seven, nine or 11 players out at the same time in different months, players who would normally be starters.
“We can talk about mistakes, but when you have so many players injured, especially key players, it is not easy to sustain a level of performance every week.”
Fernando Torres has been Liverpool’s biggest problem this season – the Spaniard has spent a large chunk of the campaign either crocked or coming back from injury.
As the inquest into Liverpool’s disappointing domestic campaign rages on, Benitez says it was always going to be difficult for them to better finishing runners-up last term.
The Reds boss claims injuries also took a heavy toll on his squad, who look like missing out on the Champions League place.
“At the beginning of the season expectations were too high,” he said. “That is normal after such a good season.
“But I always say the same – the Premier League is the Premier League and the difference in money is so big that if you want to stay at this level for a while, you have to do almost everything perfectly.
“That’s not easy when you push and push because sometimes you cannot keep the players working so hard or at the level they were in the previous season.
“During pre-season we also had players coming back late and then we had injuries. We’ve had seven, nine or 11 players out at the same time in different months, players who would normally be starters.
“We can talk about mistakes, but when you have so many players injured, especially key players, it is not easy to sustain a level of performance every week.”
Fernando Torres has been Liverpool’s biggest problem this season – the Spaniard has spent a large chunk of the campaign either crocked or coming back from injury.
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