Benitez stands by Gerrard's inclusion

Wed, 21 Oct 14:59:42 2009

Rafael Benitez insists he did not take an unwise gamble on Steven Gerrard's fitness in the 2-1 Champions League defeat at home to Lyon.

The Liverpool manager believes too that the Reds can still reach the last 16, despite having only three points from three Group E matches so far. The loss of Gerrard after just 25 minutes with a recurrence of his groin injury was a savage blow, with Fernando Torres and Glen Johnson both also sidelined.

Benitez said: "It was not a gamble to play Gerrard. He wanted to play and had trained normally for two games."

He added: "He was given the all-clear by the doctor, and what happened was just bad luck. He felt something wrong in his groin, and it was wise to come off."

Benitez will oversee a succession of scans for his injured stars before being able to start preparation for Sunday's visit of Premier League champions Manchester United.

Liverpool have staged miracle survivals in the group stages of Europe before - and will need another one now.

Benitez recalled: "We have come back before - and we can do it again.

"We now must be ready for the next match. I have confidence that we have the quality to overcome these problems.

"We have to push players now, to keep working and to maintain our confidence. We just had too many problems before and during the game. Losing Glen Johnson before the match, and then Gerrard and Martin Kelly during the match, was just too much to contend with.

"It was a difficult game with all our problems, and we had done well to be leading at the break. Then we had two or three chances soon after the interval."

 

Comment 1 - 15 of 15

Sort comments by: Most recent | Most rated

  1. MU won their 3rd group match out of 3 and are all but­ there already. You mugs are going out of the CL and out­ of business. There is a God ater all. GGMU

    From Anthony L, on Wed 21 Oct 7:47PM

  2. no1 koolgoody
    WHAT ?........YOUR A UNITED FAN AND YOUR­ NOT HAPPY WITH WHATS HAPPENIN' AT BINDIPPER­ CENTRAL........FFUK ME MATE YOU SHOULD BE ECSTATIC­ !
    YOU OBVIOUSLY DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE FFUKIN'­ RIVALRY AND HATRED BETWEEN THESE 2­ CLUBS.............I'LL BE GOIN' THERE AGAIN ON­ SUNDAY AS I HAVE DONE FOR MANY YEARS WITH UNITED,AND­ WE'LL BE WAITIN' FOR THE SCUMBAGS TO START­ THROWIN' COINS AND CUPS OF PPISS AT US AGAIN THE­ FFUKIN LOWLIFES.
    THEN WHEN YOU GET OUTSIDE AFTER THE­ GAME THEY'VE ALL GOT BACK ON THE COACHES TO GO BACK­ TO WALES AND IRELAND AND LOADS OF DIFFERENT AREAS OF­ BRITAIN WHERE MOST OF THE LIVEINTHEPAST FC FANS COME­ FROM !

    From vegasmufc, on Wed 21 Oct 2:58PM

  3. URGENT UPDATE...
    Beware the­ name:Foeyp..
    he's the­ ultimate Lfc­ trash­­ bindippin,'Stained Sniffin­ Undies/Panty­ Liner'­­ pervy­­ gutless­ B.astard,that lurkes­ around kids­­ playground,drains­ & sewers,like a­ 'creepie­ crawlie' that­ he's,sniffin away­ for unsuspected­ victims like a­ filthy perverted freak­ whenever he's on the­ losing­ side......
    stamped..
    BEWARE WHATS­ LURKING­ AROUND­ THE­ CORNER!!!..STAY CLEAR AT ALL­­ COST!!!.....
    'FOEYP' IS NOTHING BUT A LOW­ LIFE­­ SADDO & A 'CREEPIE CRAWLIE'­ HIDING­ IN­­ S.HITE/GERM INFESTED­
    'LIVERPOO'­­ PIPELINES/DRAINS­­ & SEWERS AS A LOW LYING­ DISFIGURED­­ 'CYCLOP/HERMAPHRODITE'!!!...
    WARNING:PLS STAY­­ CLEAR FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY!!!!...APPRECIATE!!!....LOL...

    From Those Rats likes Bin dippin for free Cheeseburger, on Wed 21 Oct 2:45PM

  4. I think Lucas is not suitable to the EPL or even not up­ to this level. He didn't make any contribution to­ the team especially in attacking. His tackling is soft­ and inaccurate. His passing are simply to those team­ mate around him within 5 to 10 yards. No penetration­ deep into the counter side!

    From cutecute0600, on Wed 21 Oct 2:03PM

  5. prakashjang & fayj92 have the answer!!! start a new­ story in liverpool, the old one has closed its pages!!­ we need money from decent owners and a manager who­ doesn't buy bull @#$% players and put them in their­ wrong positions! wat ever happened to 4-4-2 (put Stevie­ G up beside Torres) or 4-5-1 like below?
    ­ Reina
    Johnson Skrtel Agger Insua
    Benayoun­ Aquilani Mascherano Gerrard Riera
    ­ Torres

    Im sorry that i dont have Carra in the starting­ line-up but i think its time he takes a much needed­ rest!
    Does any-one agree?

    From Collie, on Wed 21 Oct 12:40PM

  6. How can the French be the best in the world? The French­ - as a nation are @#$%. On every occasion, when­ it's really mattered, and they've come against­ the British - we've trashed them!
    So­ 'Vincent', raise your citizen to arms - if­ you'd like to be trashed - yet again!

    From dave.fleming, on Wed 21 Oct 11:50AM

  7. GET THE YANKS OUT OF LIVERPOOL

    From fayj92, on Wed 21 Oct 11:26AM

  8. LIVERPOOL WILL WIN THIS WEEKEND LIVERPOOL 3 V 1 MAN UTD

    From fayj92, on Wed 21 Oct 11:25AM

  9. You dont have a f*$king clue. You sound like a chelsea­ fan. No-one can instantly change this season round and­ no one worldwide is better for L.F.C. than Rafa­ Benitez. He has had some bad luck and he needs us­ behind him. Actually watch what is happening rather­ than just getting pissy at bad results.

    From bigtimecharlie5, on Wed 21 Oct 11:08AM

  10. win together loss together...in rafa we trust.

    From alicearrys1, on Wed 21 Oct 11:06AM

  11. when will Rafa have some decency. Is it not the time­ for him to just shut up immediately & go as soon as­ possible!!!

    We know we won't win anything this­ year again. So why not start rebuilding????

    From prakashjang, on Wed 21 Oct 10:50AM

  12. hahahahaha!
    liverpool is such a bad team!
    lyon beat­ you! this week end man U will kick your as.s!
    French­ people are the best of da world but cheryl cole is the­ hottest woman of europe!

    Allons enfants de la­ Patrie
    Le jour de gloire est arrivé !
    Contre nous de la­ tyrannie
    L'étendard sanglant est levé
    Entendez-vous­ dans nos campagnes
    Mugir ces féroces soldats?
    Ils­ viennent jusque dans vos bras.
    Égorger vos fils, vos­ compagnes!

    Aux armes citoyens
    Formez vos­ bataillons
    Marchons, marchons
    Qu'un sang­ impur
    Abreuve nos sillons

    From Vincent, on Wed 21 Oct 10:05AM

  13. when are the rest of our fans gonna take off those­ blinkers an realise what i have been saying for years­ `rafa has to go`. 67 players in, 79 out, 100`s millions­ spent, and only 2 attacking creative players, 1 good­ defender, an a squad of sh`it. go home rafa, pretty­ please you fat cu`nt

    From foyice3, on Wed 21 Oct 9:53AM

  14. Please Rafa bench Lucas for a while in case the injured­ others are fit again.Maybe Lucas inclusion is giving us­ bad luck.In all our matches this season,I cannot count­ even a single shot a midfielder like Lucas has on or­ off target.Maybe a colleague can challenge me on­ that.
    Koolgoody thank you you are hte only ManU fan I­ know who has sympathy for us as it concerns CL­ matches.All Liverpool fans always support any EPL­ including ManU in EPL matches

    From Michael, on Wed 21 Oct 8:48AM

  15. Oh NOO RAFA...You talking TRASH again!...I'm a­ Manchester United Fan but i'm not really happy­ about what's happening to your club....Though i­ know you guys would be loosing again this weekend, i­ hope you bounce back in your other matches......

    From Koolgoody, on Wed 21 Oct 8:29AM
Sort comments by: Most recent | Most rated

Not already a Yahoo! user ? to get a free Yahoo! Account