Source: Eurosport
Benitez bemoans offside rule as Liverpool crash
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez admitted his side played poorly in Tuesday's 2-0 loss at Fiorentina in the Champions League but he also said changes to the offside rule had a hand in the defeat.[LNB] Stevan Jovetic scored the first of his two goals even though his strike partner Adrian Mutu was in an offside position when the key pass was fed to him.[LNB] Mutu was considered not to be influencing play, whereas under the old rules the assistant would have flagged.[LNB] "The new offside rule has changed everything," Benitez told a news conference.[LNB] "Now you don't know whether a player is influencing play or not when he's in front of goal. It's very hard for everyone to see when it's offside.[LNB] "But I think Jovetic was in a good position. This was a mistake we made."[LNB] The five-times European champions have shown some uncharacteristic defensive fragility this season, but Benitez refused to single out his back-line and was confident his men would respond against Chelsea in the Premier League this weekend.[LNB] "I was disappointed with the challenges everywhere," he said. "We had too many problems, we made too many mistakes.[LNB] "We had to change something and the second half was much better. I think the Chelsea game will be better. We'll see the Liverpool of the second half."[LNB] Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli was understandably delighted after his side claimed their first points in Group E in style.[LNB] "We were very attentive, well ordered and the strikers did very well to be in the right position for the counter attacks," he said.[LNB] "The first half was the best performance I've ever seen my team play, given the quality of the opposition."[LNB] He also praised in-form Montenegro teen Jovetic, who made sure the suspended Alberto Gilardino was not missed.[LNB] "Jovetic has done more than make a leap forward," he said. "Last year his qualities were there for all to see, but it was at the service of his own movements. Now it's for the team."[LNB] (Editing by Miles Evans)
