Source: FOOTYMAD
Rafa proud of players
Rafael Benitez was proud of his players on Thursday night. Although Liverpool were knocked out of the Europa League by Athletico Madrid on the away goals rule, Benitez was proud of his players' performances and said they could not have worked harder for the cause than they did. "I think we were on top of them for a long time and it's a pity," said the boss. "We were there, but to concede a goal was disappointing. They were dangerous on the counter-attack and it was a very good game. "Atletico were up for it and had a lot of desire. They have a lot of quality, we knew that, and they worked hard. "We knew we had to keep working (after Benayoun's goal) because they could score. It was a pity the way they scored. It was another situation where they played good counter-attack, but to lose the second ball was a pity. "It is a season where everything is against us, but you could see the players working so hard and you have to be proud for them. "The season has not been good enough. We have to concentrate now on the next two games, try to do our best for next season and be ready because we have had too many problems."
