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Beach Ball Not To Blame For Sunderland Defeat - Liverpool Boss Rafa Benitez
Rafa refuses to hide behind excuses for Liverpool's defeat at Sunderland
18-Oct-2009 12:58:28 AM
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has blamed a poor performance for his side's 1-0 defeat to Sunderland today, refusing to use the freakishness of Sunderland's fifth minute goal as an excuse.
Darren Bent scored the only goal of the game as his shot cannoned off a beach ball and found its way past Liverpool defender Glen Johnson and goalkeeper Pepe Reina. However Benitez has said that his side's overall performance just wasn't up to scratch.
He told Sky Sports: "It was a special situation but we didn't play well and so I don't want to talk about that - we made some mistakes, we gave the ball away and we couldn't take our chances.
"These things happen. It is a bad situation for us as it was in the middle and very influential but we didn't play well and that is the main thing for me."
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce was of the opinion that his side deserved the win, beach ball or no beach ball.
Talking to the BBC, he said: "In my opinion we deserved to win the game, but [the beach ball] obviously helped our cause.
"I hope it's not going to be the issue just that we've had a bit of luck there, because on the balance of it [we deserved the win]," he added.
Despite recording their fourth loss in nine league games, Benitez doesn't believe that Liverpool's title hopes are now over.
"Whether it is crucial depends on the next few games" he said. "You have to keep your confidence and keep working hard."
And Benitez pointed to other clubs' failings as a potential saviour for the Reds this season.
"In a normal season if the teams at the top of the table win every single game then it would be different. This year Chelsea have already lost two games and I think this year will see teams at the top losing a lot of games".
Jonny Esthero, Goal.com UK
Darren Bent scored the only goal of the game as his shot cannoned off a beach ball and found its way past Liverpool defender Glen Johnson and goalkeeper Pepe Reina. However Benitez has said that his side's overall performance just wasn't up to scratch.
He told Sky Sports: "It was a special situation but we didn't play well and so I don't want to talk about that - we made some mistakes, we gave the ball away and we couldn't take our chances.
"These things happen. It is a bad situation for us as it was in the middle and very influential but we didn't play well and that is the main thing for me."
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce was of the opinion that his side deserved the win, beach ball or no beach ball.
Talking to the BBC, he said: "In my opinion we deserved to win the game, but [the beach ball] obviously helped our cause.
"I hope it's not going to be the issue just that we've had a bit of luck there, because on the balance of it [we deserved the win]," he added.
Despite recording their fourth loss in nine league games, Benitez doesn't believe that Liverpool's title hopes are now over.
"Whether it is crucial depends on the next few games" he said. "You have to keep your confidence and keep working hard."
And Benitez pointed to other clubs' failings as a potential saviour for the Reds this season.
"In a normal season if the teams at the top of the table win every single game then it would be different. This year Chelsea have already lost two games and I think this year will see teams at the top losing a lot of games".
Jonny Esthero, Goal.com UK
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