Benitez says thank you for battling display
Mar 27 2006
By Ian Doyle, Daily Post
RAFAEL BENITEZ praised the application of his Liverpool players after they overcame the dismissal of Steven Gerrard to earn a 3-1 derby victory over Everton on Saturday.
Liverpool have now scored 18 goals in their last four games, all of which have been won.
"I'm particularly happy because it was a very difficult game, a derby, and it was so important for the supporters," said Benitez.. "To lose the captain was a blow, but the team worked really hard, kept the ball and tried to profit from set-pieces.
"The players under-stood what they needed to do - I couldn't tell people like Luis, who was on the other side of the pitch, to drop back into a 4-4-1, but they did it.
"They scored an own goal just before half-time but, at the interval, we could talk about how to play with 10 men. The goal was really good for us because we needed to be compact. We could control the game from there."
Benitez also singled out the role played by Peter Crouch as a lone striker, and the backing of the Anfield support as the Spaniard registered his third successive derby win.
"If Luis (Garcia) hadn't scored, it would have been different but it showed how important Peter Crouch is for us," said the Liverpool manager.
"We have players like him, Harry or Luis who did a great job for us in attack.
"You need to use your brain. You have to analyse the game as it goes on but, when 10 players work that hard and the supporters get that involved, I wanted to say thank you to everyone.
"You have to be calm, always, and use your brain."
