Rafa defends Gerrard move
22 Oct 2007 - 10:41:31
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez remains adamant that he made the right decision to substitute skipper Steven Gerrard late on in the 2-1 Merseyside derby victory at Everton.
Gerrad reacted badly to being substituted 19 minutes from time at Goodison Park, with Benitez opting to bring on Lucas Leiva in the England man's place.
However, the tactic worked as the Reds stole victory with a last-minute penalty, in a controversial clash dominated by the bizarre decisions of referee Mark Clattenburg.
Benitez told the Daily Post: "The idea was clear. We were playing with 11 players against ten, we had plenty of possession and we needed to control the ball.
"I needed to change a player for playing between the lines around the midfielders.
"Gerrard is a fantastic player, there is no doubt about this, but you are playing the game and you need to take decisions to win the game.
"If I'd had needed to change Pepe Reina because he was nervous I would do it. Sometimes you need to wait, sometimes you need to do it.
"He wanted to play for sure. I tried to talk to him, but he was disappointed.
"The clever decision will be to look at it with him later and analyse why the decision was made. I think he will understand, because it is normal to do the best for the team."