Rafael Benítez slams referee following Liverpool's 31 defeat to Fulham

31 October 2009 20:38
Liverpool suffered their fifth league defeat of the season in 11 games as both Philipp Degen and Jamie Carragher saw red in a frantic final 20 minutes that saw Erik Nevland and Clint Dempsey inflict further pain on Benítez with the goals that see them lag nine points behind table-toppers Chelsea.[LNB]Liverpool have now lost six of their past seven games in all competitions and Benítez's future is severely under threat.[LNB] Related ArticlesFulham 3 Liverpool 1Liverpool woes leave Benítez putting out fires in EuropePremier League tablePremier League actionPremier League fixturesLiverpool's surgery fears for Steven GerrardThe Spaniard also came in for criticism from his own fans for substituting Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun and Dirk Kuyt. Wednesday's Champions League clash with Lyon now represents a case of win-or-bust for the 49 year-old.[LNB]Yet Benítez was bullish afterwards, claiming Mason should only have booked Degen for his lunge on Dempsey and should not even have awarded a free kick against Carragher for hauling down Bobby Zamora, who was through on goal.[LNB]'The first sending off [Degen] was a yellow-card offence and it was very clear Carragher kicked the ball for the second one, so we will be appealing,' said Benítez. 'Those incidents in a few minutes are difficult to take.[LNB]'Am I under pressure? You asked me about this before we played Manchester United last weekend and after we played that game everything changed. That's football.[LNB]'We have to be realistic and now think about getting the next three points in the league. We also have a difficult game against Lyon and we have to look at who will be available for that.'[LNB]Benítez knows he will have to patch together a side for that test in France, having admitted Torres was not fit to play the entire game yesterday and that Steven Gerrard is still a major doubt.[LNB]'Fernando is not 100 per cent fit,' added Benítez. 'In the end we had to protect the player and we decided to take him off as we didn't want to lose such an important player for a month.''[LNB]

Source: Telegraph