Source: SKY_Sports
Rafa 'satisfied' with key win
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez was delighted to have emerged from a tricky trip to Hull City with three points on Saturday. The Reds kept their Premier League title dreams alive with a comfortable 3-1 win at the KC Stadium.Goals from Xabi Alonso and a brace from Dirk Kuyt saw the Merseysiders home, while Geovanni notched a consolation for the Tigers.Benitez hailed Hull afterwards for the part they played in a competitive contest, while the Spaniard was also pleased to have prevailed on what proved to be a difficult surface."I think we were working very hard and I think we created a lot of chances. I think we have to be satisfied," said Benitez."I think we were a little bit rusty early on because the pitch was terrible. It was dry, it was long and it was very difficult to pass the ball. "You can make mistakes when the other team is used to the grass. But it is part of the situation and the second half was better."The Reds boss was also delighted to see two-goal hero Kuyt reap the rewards of his recent hard work."Everybody is really pleased at the club because Kuyt is the perfect professional. He always works so hard, so it was very good for him to score today," he saidConfidenceBenitez is also refusing to throw in the towel in the title race, insisting his side are still in with a fighting chance of overhauling champions Manchester United."In football, you never know," he said."We needed to win before today and we have. Now we have to keep on winning."We are playing with more confidence. We were in control, we scored two goals, but then we made a mistake, but I don't remember too many more clear chances for them. But we can still improve."Referee Martin Atkinson came under scrutiny for his performance on Saturday, with a number of contentious decisions infuriating the Hull support.Much has been made of the awarding of a free-kick moments before the interval, from which Alonso scored, but Benitez believes the officials got the big decisions right."It was very clear if you see the replay. The referee was right," he said on the incident preceding the opening goal.