
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez hailed an important win after his side beat Chelsea 2-0 at Anfield to keep up their title challenge.
Chelsea went down to 10 men after Frank Lampard was controversially sent off in the 60th minute and Liverpool took advantage, with Torres scoring an 89th minute header from a Fabio Aurelio cross.
He then added a tap-in deep into injury-time to help the Reds close the gap on Manchester United at the top to two points, having played a game more.
Benitez told Sky Sports that he did not think Lampard's dismissal was the turning point, claiming the Reds had the edge throughout.
"I think we were better than them during the game. The question was to create more clear chances. We needed to wait until the end.
"It's true they were playing with 10 men but I think we were better through the whole game," he said, although he would not talk about the sending off as he had not seen the replay.
Benitez believed the win over their close rivals meant his side were in a much better position in the title race.
"It's always important to win, to score goals and to play well.
"We were in a fantastic position before and we are much better now so we have to keep going, have confidence in ourselves and the players on the pitch, they are doing well," he said, adding it was good to see Torres back scoring goals.
"Hopefully he can score more goals until the end of the season," he said.
When asked to confirm whether Robbie Keane - who was again left out of the squad - would still be a Liverpool player after Monday's transfer deadline, Benitez replied: "I think so."
Co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks - who were sitting well apart in the front row of the directors' box - will be re-opening talks with Benitez over his new contract and attend a board meeting together on Monday.
Asked about the situation with his contract, Benitez added: "My idea is not to talk today about anything else, just to enjoy after this important game.
"There are conversations and we have to wait and now to enjoy."

0 comments:
Post a Comment