Rafa rues errors
06 Dec 2006 - 09:25:53
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez blamed defensive errors for his side's 3-2 defeat at Galatasaray in the Reds' final Champions League group game.
Robbie Fowler scored both Liverpool's goals in a game that was of no consequence to the visitors as they had already qualified for the knockout stage of the competition.
But Benitez was still disappointed to lose the game, saying: "We paid for bad mistakes. You cannot expect to win if you make mistakes like that at this level.
"But I always felt it was going to be a difficult game for the players, they knew they were already group winners and the job had been done. So it was more difficult to stage a comeback in such circumstances, like you would do in a cup final.
"I wanted to see my players doing well, but also to realise that there are younger team-mates who are waiting for their chance.
"I have rested some senior players because we have such a busy next couple of months with lots of games. I wanted to see what futures there are for the young players and to be able to plan for that future."