Source: Telegraph
Rafael Benítez raged in Liverpool dressing room at Fiorentina admits Fabio Aurelio
Aurelio played for Benítez at Valencia before he joined him at Anfield and so is well placed to assess his manager’s mood.
Liverpool were played off the pitch by the Italian side in their 2-0 defeat and were in large part the architects of their own misfortune, putting in their worst collective display for some time.
And it was the tepid manner of the defeat rather than the result by itself that particularly enraged Benítez.
“That was the most annoyed we have seen the manager but we all were,” said Aurelio.
“We all felt like that after the first half and that’s why you saw a better performance in the second.
“But we didn’t need harsh words at half-time – we all knew that we were not playing well and that we had to be much better.
“In the second we were a different side and if it had been like that from the start it could have been a different result.”
Stevan Jovetic scored both goals for Fiorentina in a first-half display that was uncharacteristic of Benítez’s Liverpool side on away trips in Europe.
Liverpool now face back-to-back matches against group leaders Lyon, and they will need at least one positive result against the French side or risk missing out on the knock out stages.
The timing of the performance will also be a worry to Benítez with a huge Premier League fixture at Chelsea this weekend.
“In football you always have a chance to put it right and turn things to your favour and ours comes at Chelsea on Sunday,” Aurelio told the Sun newspaper.
“It’s a good opportunity for us to get over the disappointment of losing to Fiorentina.
“It is a very important game in the Premier League, against a very strong side, and we have to recover from this result straight away and have the confidence we can do a good job again.
“We have to fight really hard to take the points.
“It’s important to get something against the top sides. We are scoring more goals at the moment but you must keep improving if you want to win trophies.”
