Benitez not fearing Chelsea sack after late Newcastle defeat

Feb 2, 2013 6:45:00 PM

The former Liverpool boss was furious after seeing his side fail to win a penalty after Fabricio Coloccini caught Demba Ba in the face with his boot in the box

Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez has insisted his job is not in jeopardy despite his side slipping to a 3-2 defeat to Newcastle on Saturday afternoon.

Moussa Sissoko capped an incredible home debut for the hosts with a 90th-minute winner, but Benitez felt his side should have been given a penalty when Fabricio Coloccini caught Demba Ba in the face with his boot, leaving the former Toon man with a suspected broken nose.

When asked about his Stamford Bridge future, Benitez told reporters: "If the players show the character that they showed in the second half, it means something is right.

"If we cannot control these games, it is something we have to improve.

"With some players: David Luiz, [Eden] Hazard, [John] Obi Mikel and Victor Moses coming back that gives us more options and maybe we can have fresh legs on the pitch.

"When we are in form and doing well, we can beat anyone.

"We are doing a good job in terms of what you can see on the pitch so we're doing well. The team has great team spirit and I'm confident that the team will finish in the top three.

"I felt the reaction of the team in the second half was fantastic, We scored great goals, we had more chances but we made the mistake to allow them to play on the counterattack.

"We have to improve, but we couldn't change the situation of Demba Ba.

"It was a penalty and a red card for me. In the middle of the park it's just carry on, go back, free kick. In the penalty area it's carry on, go back, penalty and red card.

"It changed the game, we lost a player to a broken nose. It's something to consider. In other circumstances, everyone would be talking about this."

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