Rafa Responds To Critics

The Reds ground out a 0-0 draw at Villa Park last Sunday in a scrappy game that produced few highlights.

The Merseyside club were without skipper Steven Gerrard and lost Fernando Torres to a hamstring strain midway through the first half, meaning they were robbed of their attacking impetus.

Nonetheless, most pundits felt Benitez could have handled the situation better, pointing to his strange decision to deploy Robbie Keane on the left flank while leaving Ryan Babel on the bench.

But while the Spanish manager admitted it was not a perfect display, he defended his tactical decisions to the hilt and insisted that Liverpool were the better side.

"Getting a draw without them showed the quality in the squad – but it could have been better," Benitez told the club's official website.

"Having watched the videos, I thought we could have won. We had four chances – Alonso, Kuyt, Ngog and Keane. They had two and some set-pieces. So, the point was good but it could have been better.

"We changed the system to play 4-3-3 and give Xabi Alonso freedom, then when he was being pressed we changed to 4-2-3-1. People said, 'Oh, Robbie Keane wasn't playing well on the left.' But we had to think about winning the game, not just one player."