Rafa Benitez insists his decision to substitute Fernando Torres at Birmingham in Sunday's draw was simply an attempt to freshen up his flagging Liverpool side.
With the game evenly poised at 1-1 with 25 minutes left to play the Spaniard surprised everyone in St Andrews with his decision to withdraw Torres in favour of David Ngog.
Torres has been in fine form since his return from injury and while Benitez will point to an exerting Europa League tie on Thursday that saw Liverpool play for an hour with 10 men, his front-man looked perplexed by the decision.
Benitez thought his star striker looked tired and was in no mood to make apologies for his call post-match. Of the impression Ngog played well in his cameo off the bench, Benitez insists there is no reason for Torres to feel aggrieved.
"He was tired, he was really tired," Benitez told Sky Sports. "We needed fresh legs so I went with Ngog.
"It was a really good substitution because he was working very hard and had a few chances, so perhaps the movement and energy he had made him fresher.
"Sometimes maybe the player wants to play 90 minutes but we needed the energy and I think Ngog was really good."
The stalemate leaves Liverpool four points off Manchester City in fourth, and three behind Tottenham in fifth, with both having played a game less than Benitez's side.
Benitez concedes his team have it all to do if they are to secure UEFA Champions League football for next season but is adamant there is still plenty to play for between now and the end of the season.
"Tottenham and Man City are in a better position but there are still many games to play. We have to win our games and then see where we are," he continued.
"We were talking about winning the six games or maybe drawing one. Now we have drawn the one so we need to win the other five.
"It was a pity, it was a great performance from the team. We made a lot of chances in the first half and then in the second half. We had to win."
With the game evenly poised at 1-1 with 25 minutes left to play the Spaniard surprised everyone in St Andrews with his decision to withdraw Torres in favour of David Ngog.
Torres has been in fine form since his return from injury and while Benitez will point to an exerting Europa League tie on Thursday that saw Liverpool play for an hour with 10 men, his front-man looked perplexed by the decision.
Benitez thought his star striker looked tired and was in no mood to make apologies for his call post-match. Of the impression Ngog played well in his cameo off the bench, Benitez insists there is no reason for Torres to feel aggrieved.
"He was tired, he was really tired," Benitez told Sky Sports. "We needed fresh legs so I went with Ngog.
"It was a really good substitution because he was working very hard and had a few chances, so perhaps the movement and energy he had made him fresher.
"Sometimes maybe the player wants to play 90 minutes but we needed the energy and I think Ngog was really good."
The stalemate leaves Liverpool four points off Manchester City in fourth, and three behind Tottenham in fifth, with both having played a game less than Benitez's side.
Benitez concedes his team have it all to do if they are to secure UEFA Champions League football for next season but is adamant there is still plenty to play for between now and the end of the season.
"Tottenham and Man City are in a better position but there are still many games to play. We have to win our games and then see where we are," he continued.
"We were talking about winning the six games or maybe drawing one. Now we have drawn the one so we need to win the other five.
"It was a pity, it was a great performance from the team. We made a lot of chances in the first half and then in the second half. We had to win."
No comments:
Post a Comment