Riera admits to flare up with Benitez

Albert Riera has admitted to having a flare up with Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez. The Spanish winger revealed the incident occurred when he didn't play in the Reds first game of the Premiership against Tottenham. Riera who had played in the Confederations Cup in the summer, joined up with the Reds squad late, along with the rest of the Spanish players and Benitez didn't think his fitness levels where up to scratch.

Speaking to the Spanish press ahead of today's world cup qualifier against Belgium, Riera said:

“I didn’t play the first game because I started training late after the Confederations Cup, like Pepe Reina and Fernando Torres. I was angry and had a flare-up at Benitez, but the day I don’t get angry for being a substitute I will retire,” reports the Echo.

However despite the heated exchange Albert Riera insists he has nothing but admiration for Benitez, stating he is a 'special' manager.

“Benitez is a special coach who defends his own. I know he is with me, because he said so.”

Benitez charged with improper conduct by FA

The FA have charged Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez with improper conduct. The charge refers to the comments he made to the media following the opening day defeat at Tottenham on August 16th. Liverpool were awarded one spot kick after keeper Heurelho Gomes' clumsy challenge on Glen Johnson, but referee Phil Dowd waved away a second blatant penalty claim after Spurs left back Assou-Ekotto shoved Andriy Voronin to the ground denying the Ukrainian a goal scoring opportunity. Assistant Sammy Lee was so enraged by the injustice of the decision that he was sent off following a verbal altercation with fourth official Stuart Attwell. Lee was later charged by the FA for this incident.

After the Tottenham match, Benitez had this to say:

"I think everyone could see there was a penalty, especially to Voronin."

"The third one, you could excuse, you can say that the hand was to the ball or the ball was to the hand. But the other one was so clear that it was unbelievable."

Asked by the press if it was possible to win two penalties away from home, Benítez added:

"No, with this referee I knew that this was impossible."

The FA who had imposed new rules prior to the new season, intended to stop managers calling into question a referee’s neutrality and integrity, had revealed it was investigating the incident on Aug 21. The Telegraph says the Footballing Association "requested “all available materials” of Benitez’s comments, including television footage and newspaper reports, and later wrote to the Spaniard to ask him to explain his remarks."

The investigation has resulted in the FA charging Benitez. A brief statement says: "The charge relates to comments made about the match official immediately following the match at White Hart Lane."

Benitez has until 15 September 2009 to respond

Lee charged with improper conduct by the FA

Liverpool's assistant manager, Sammy Lee, has been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association after a clash with the fourth official, Stuart Attwell, during the defeat to Tottenham on Sunday. The 50-year-old was subsequently sent off by the referee, Phil Dowd during the dying minutes of the match. The FA's official site says:

"The charge relates to Lee's conduct towards fourth official Stuart Attwell"

"Lee has until 26 August to respond to the charge under what are new fast-track regulations relating to technical area misconduct offences."

Lee's altercation with fourth official Attwell began after referee Phil Dowd decided not to award the Reds a second penalty for a blatant push on Andriy Voronin in the box and a subsequent hand ball from Assou-Ekotto.

FA write to Benitez to explain his comments about referee Phil Dowd

Today's Telegraph claims Liverpool manager may face sanctions from the FA following his press conference comments after the defeat to Tottenham.

"The FA have requisitioned "all available materials" to establish exactly what Benítez said and yesterday wrote to the Spaniard asking him to explain his comments. Benítez could receive a warning or a fine, if it is decided he has transgressed new directives established before the start of the season forbidding managers from questioning a referee's neutrality and integrity," says the article.

The Reds boss, when asked about referee Phil Dowds performance by the waiting press "Benítez remained silent, but took out his glasses and peered from a distance through the lenses, making it abundantly clear that he felt the Staffordshire official needed a visual aid," said the Telegraph on Monday. The Liverpool manager added: "We had a meeting the other day, they said we cannot speak about the referees as a person, about the decisions, but everybody could see today the situation."

New rules imposed by the FA, intend to stop managers speaking out against individual officials. Incredibly the waiting press knew full well about the new sanctions imposed upon managers and clearly sensed that a reaction could be teased from Benitez. The Reds boss unhappiness with Dowd who refused to award a clear penalty and then sent assistant Sammi Lee off, was obvious.

Amazingly, Rafa Benitez's hand gestures and spectacle waving are reported as 'controversial' incidents, yet other managers say what they please about other clubs, officials or players without stepping into the same hot water that faces Benitez every time he speaks to the press.

Tottenham Hotspur 2 - Liverpool 1

Premiership Match report

Reporter: The Main (Stand) Man




With all reds fans heartened by the drubbing handed down to our blue brethren a day earlier, Liverpool travelled to White Hart Lane to commence their Premier League campaign in the London sunshine. Several questions remained until shortly before kick off when the team was announced, not least who would form the central defensive partnership given the injuries to Carragher, Skrtel and Agger during the pre-season. In the end it was Carragher and Skrtel who made the line-up, joined by Insua and Johnson as the full backs. The midfield saw Kuyt, Mascherano, Gerrard, Babel and Lucas take to the field, and Torres was passed fit to play leaving Voronin and Ngog on the bench.

Spurs started the brighter of the two sides, forcing a corner within the first three minutes after some sloppy play by Liverpool near to their own corner flag. Liverpool soon began to show some promise, however, Torres looking eager to drive at the heart of the Tottenham defense and Babel unlucky not to go clean through after he failed to control a difficult long pass from Carragher. Johnson then linked up with Kuyt down the right to win a corner, but the resultant cross came to nothing, sailing as it did over all heads in the penalty area. The game settled down after these initial exchanges, with both teams finding space at a premium thanks to some hard work to close each other down.

A bizaare incident then threatened to leave the reds without any centre halves on the pitch at all. Carragher and Skrtel both went for the same high ball under no pressure from any Spurs players. The two collided with Carragher ‘heading’ the underside of Skrtel’s jaw, leaving both prostrated on the turf. Thankfully, Skrtel was able to continue and Carragher returned to the fray after a couple of minutes with a Terry Butcher style bandage round his head. Moments later a half chance for Tottenham saw Lennon and Keane getting in each others way with the former ready to pull the trigger.

Lennon was then booked for a late challenge on Skrtel, leaving his foot in after Skrtel had manoeuvred the ball round him. In all truth, moments like these were to prove the only interesting moments of the first 30 minutes, with no clear chances created by either side. Shortly after the half hour mark, Gerrard let fly with a 25 yard shot which went narrowly wide. Pepe Reina then proved the hero with a stunning save from Keane. A long cross found Modric at the far side of the Liverpool box, his control was good and he stabbed the ball back across the goal to find Keane in yards of space. With the goal at his mercy, Keane did as the textbooks say and directed his header downwards, but it went too close to Reina who showed good reactions to dive to his left and claw the ball clear. Mascherano was then ridiculously booked for not being able to get out of the way of Lennon as he made his way across the field in front of the Liverpool penalty area. Reina then made a second great save as Modric’s ball found Keane racing through. His attempted chip found Reina standing tall and he was able to parry the ball to safety.

Liverpool’s most promising move of the half resulted when Gerrard picked the ball up in midfield. A typical driving run towards the Spurs box allowed him to find Babel on the left but the Dutchman was unable to find Torres in the middle after the striker had made a good run in front of the defender. Assou-Ekotto then attempted to get Kuyt booked with a dive more deserving of an Oscar than a freekick, but thankfully Phil Dowd had the sense to award nothing more than. Unfortunately, the defender was then able to put Spurs ahead with an unstoppable shot.

Skrtel fouled Palacios on the edge of the area, and the subsequent shot from the set-piece rebounded off the wall to Assou-Ekotto. He unleashed a left foot shot which gave Reina no chance from all of 25 yards out right into the top corner of the net. Liverpool looked to respond immediately, with Skrtel’s long ball finding Kuyt just unable to control the ball for a one-on-one situation. All of a sudden the reds began to come forward with more purpose, looking to attack the Spurs defense at last. The referee, though, blew the half time whistle with all of the Liverpool players no doubt fearing some harsh words from Benitez in the dressing room. In truth, it had been an extremely disappointing 45 minutes, with poor passing, no penetration and, from some, a lack of desire seeming to show through.

Liverpool won an early corner following the restart, which Gerrard took and swung out to the edge of the area. The ball ended up close to the opposite corner, and Insua was dispossessed, with Lennon picking up the loose ball when played forward. The youngster went on a surging run, skipping past three Liverpool players before finally being robbed of the ball by Lucas on the edge of the reds area. Liverpool then went close themselves, with Kuyt finding Torres who laid off for Gerrard, but the skipper’s shot went inches wide of the upright.

It was beginning to look like more of a contest, although still Liverpool’s passing play was not good enough to provoke hopes of an equaliser anytime soon. It was Spurs who again went close on 53 minutes, with Defoe finding Palacios in acres of space just outside the Liverpool area. His rasping shot was just within reach for Reina, however, and his outstretched arm tipped the ball over the bar.

The reds were awarded a penalty moments later, though, after a jinking run from Johnson led him into the area. With Gomes rushing from his line to challenge, Johnson flicked the ball past him leaving the keeper with no chance of avoiding a collision. Gerrard stepped up and dispatched the penalty with aplomb, despite the taunts of the Spurs fans attempting to distract him.

The referee then put Jamie Carragher’s name in the book for a foul on Defoe, and from the freekick Spurs retook the lead. A floated ball into the box found Bassong’s head highest and his flicked effort went past the despairing dive of Reina. Benitez soon after decided to introduce Yossi Benayoun into the proceedings in an attempt to spice up Liverpool’s attacking play. Babel was sacrificed having failed again to make any kind of significant contribution to the game, although in his defense he was far from the only one. Peter Crouch also came on for Robbie Keane, the two ex-Liverpool players swapped in a tactical move from Harry Redknapp.

Torres then went close from a Glen Johnson cross following the best passage of play in the entire match from Liverpool. Some fluent passing went through much of the team before the chance was created, and this seemed to inspire the reds that they could actually get something from the game. Another good move ended with a shot from Gerrard’s left foot, and although he was able to draw a save from Gomes, the shot from his weaker side did not carry the required pace to seriously trouble the keeper.

Daniel Ayala then replaced Skrtel at the heart of the defence, the Croatian still troubled by the head injury received earlier in the game. Kuyt was replaced by Voronin soon after in an attacking move from Rafa, with Spurs just starting to sit back on their lead leaving a little more space in the middle of the park for Liverpool to work in. The home side had begun to look to floating balls up to Crouch to keep the ball in the Liverpool half, a move which would seem to provide hope that Liverpool could begin to pick up more possession. This proved to be the case, with Gerrard swinging in a ball towards Torres which King was lucky to deflect back into the arms of his keeper with his outstretched leg.

O’Hara replaced Modric for Tottenham, with the clock ticking ominously onwards towards the final whistle. A shout for another penalty soon followed, with a beautiful ball from Benayoun almost finding Voronin on the end of it. The forward was bundled over with no attempt by the Spurs defence to play the ball, but Phil Dowd shook his head and refused to grant the spotkick. When Assou-Ekotto was struck by the ball in his penalty area shortly after, again the Liverpool players were vocal in their appeal for handball which was again turned down. Sammy Lee was then dismissed from the bench for complaining about the decisions a little too vocally for the liking of the officials, which only served to waste more time. As the game went into time added on, Redknapp brought on Pavlyuchenko to waste a few seconds, and shortly afterwards Dowd blew the whistle to condemn the reds to their first opening day defeat for seven years.

All in all, Liverpool did not deserve to take three points from this game, taking too long to get into their stride and allowing Spurs far too many opportunities after surrendering possession too easily and standing off the attackers for too long as they surged forward. With a home game against Stoke to come on Wednesday night, Liverpool will need to kickstart their season immediately to prevent a gap opening up this early in the season, and to do this there must be a more concerted effort from all concerned. It was only the introduction of Benayoun which seemed to open the game up, with Torres hounded off the ball on many occasions and Gerrard unable to exert too much influence from his advanced midfield position. Whilst the nay-sayers will no doubt imagine their opinions surrounding the departure of Alonso to be reaffirmed by this result, in truth the Spaniard would have been unlikely to be able to provide inspiration for the entire team, and this collective lack of drive is the true reason that Liverpool lost today.

Match time and date: KO 16:00. 16 August 2009

Goals: Tottenham Hotspur: Assou-Ekotto 44, Bassong 59. Liverpool: Gerrard (pen) 56

Yellow cards: Gomes, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Mascherano, Skrtel, Carragher

Referee: Dowd

Attendance: 35,935

Tottenham Hotspur: 01 Gomes, 19 Bassong, 22 Corluka, 26 King, 32 Assou-Ekotto, 06 Huddlestone, 07 Lennon, 12 Palacios, 14 Modric (O'Hara 83), 10 Keane (Crouch 68), 18 Defoe (Pavlyuchenko 90+2)
Substitutes: 23 Cudicini, 02 Hutton, 16 Naughton, 05 Bentley, 24 O'Hara, 09 Pavlyuchenko, 15 Crouch

Liverpool: 25 Reina, 02 Johnson, 22 Insua, 23 Carragher, 37 Skrtel (Ayala 75), 08 Gerrard, 20 Mascherano, 21 Lucas, 09 Torres, 18 Kuyt (Voronin 79) 19 Babel (Benayoun 67)
Substitutes: 01 Cavalieri, 34 Kelly, 38 Dossena, 15 Benayoun, 26 Spearing, 40 Ayala, 10 Voronin

Liverpool must be more clinical at Tottenham says Benitez

Reds boss Rafa Benitez is demanding his side be more clinical in front of goal. The Reds visit White Hart lane tomorrow to launch their Premiership game, but Benitez is mindful of last season fixture with the Reds dominating the game but ultimately loosing the match:

“I remember the game at Tottenham very well and it was maybe one of our best away performances last season,” he said in the Echo.

“We lost but the face of Harry Redknapp at the end of the game said it all for me.

“It was a pity because it was a very good game, but you must learn from matches like this.

“When you have chances you have to finish teams off.

“Maybe if there is something we can improve on this season it is to be more clinical.”

Andrea Dossena has been linked with a move back to Italy, but for the time being he is still a Liverpool player and Benitez insists having two players competing for the same position can only be positive for the team.

“Both Dossena and Insua are competing hard for the position and that’s good for us,” Benitez added.

“We had some clubs asking about Dossena but at the moment he’s still with us and he’s our player.

“He has trained really well and we are really pleased with him.”

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres yesterday put pen to paper keeping him at the club until 2013 and Benitez is clearly delighted one of the best forward in the world has committed to the club.

“Every major side would want him in their team, but he has shown how much he wants to achieve success at Liverpool by committing his future to the club.

“He’s a special talent, but still has the hunger to improve his game.”

Liverpool 3 - Tottenham Hotspur 1

Premiership Match report

Tottenham were playing for a European place, Liverpool for pride and possibly to give the home fans a good sending off before the summer. At times the football from the reds was wonderfully flowing and to be fair Spurs offered little resistance in the early part of the game, considering they were still vying for a place in the newly formed Europa League. However one of the first chances came from Spurs as Ekotto struck a fierce shot at Reina, which was comfortably saved, but it gave Harry Redknapp’s men a small period of possession albeit with little to show for it. Torres then gave a display of his magic, receiving the ball virtually at the half way line he ran at the spurs side turning Jenas and Corluka, with such explosive pace, that one may have suspected he had a secret turbo charger hidden in his boots. Leaving both Spurs players looking like statues he screamed forward, unfortunately Jenas determined not to be shown up, regained ground and did enough to put Torres off and his scuffed shot was easily saved. The breakthrough came after a poor clearance by Ekotto on the edge of the Spurs penalty area, which Gerrard received and passed to Kuyt who was making a blistering run down the right wing. His perfect cross into the danger zone was met by Fernando Torres who despite being surrounded by three Tottenham players easily headed the ball past goal keeper Gomes. It hit the underside of the cross bar and in. It was his fiftieth goal for the Reds, achieving the landmark quicker then Dalglish, Rush, Aldridge, Fowler or Owen. It’s difficult not to imagine how the season would have turned out had a fit Torres been terrorising defences in every game. The goal seemed to begin the festivities with the fans, and they sang through the greatest hits: Torres, Rafa, Alonso, even Dalglish. But the biggest reception was for their soon to be departing Anfield legend: Sami Hyypia, playing his final match for the Reds.

Just before the end of the half, Spurs had their first real chance as Defoe clear on goal, left the Red backline and hoping for a flag, but offside he wasn’t. Pepe Reina ran to meet the pacey striker and must have looked like the towering ape goliath: Kong to the diminutive forward, whose attempt at a chip/shot was easily saved. The ease of how he beat the offside trap, should have set off the alarm bells, but it didn’t. Robbie Keane would profit from this later. The first half almost over gave Benayoun one last chance, but his fizzing shot didn’t dip enough to hit the target.

Liverpool have not lost a game at Anfield when they have scored first, during Benitez entire reign as manager and the statistic bode well for an attacking Liverpool. The second goal almost came as Gerrard made a surging run down the left wing flicking the ball towards Torres, but it was deflected out for a corner. Then Alonso tried two of his long range specials in quick succession, the second almost catching Gomes unawares. Through all this Tottenham almost had a breakthrough after a series of sloppy tackles gave them a free kick on the edge of the D. Bales kick was decent enough to beat the wall and Reina saved after initially spilling the shot. Liverpool now surged forward determined to score a second goal and it came after clever interplay between Gerrard, who passed to Benayoun who laid off towards Kuyt, whose shot was deflected off Hutton into the open net. It was almost three when Gerrard receiving the ball from midfield shot at goal but the angle was too acute. His shot passed Gomes, but hit the post. As the crowd demanded ‘Justice for the 96’, Gerrard almost came close again as his shot seared over the top of the goal. Then it became like goal practice as Riera’s shot scorched the post.

As the crowd persisted for Sami Hyypia to be introduced with chants of “Sami on!”, Robbie Keane found himself in acres of space and the Anfield back line wanting. The defenders looked for a flag that would never come and Keane shot the ball past Reina into the net. Keane’s goal signaled the end of Pepe Reina’s pursuit of the Golden Gloves for the fourth year running. Much to his credit, the Irish Striker, once a boy hood Liverpool fan, did not celebrate his strike. It was a gesture that brought appreciative applause from the Anfield crowd. Tottenham’s hopes that this would spark a comeback were short lived, when a defencive mix up left Gerrard with the ball who stabbed it through to a surging Benayoun. The Israeli slotted the ball low past Gomes’s right. The keeper got a little touch, but it wasn’t enough and the ball rolled into the net. It was almost four as Gerrard took a stinging free kick from 30 yards out which fizzed past the post. It was to be his last touch of the game, for an Anfield legend was about to make his final appearance. It brought the biggest reception from the Anfield crowd as the towering Finn came onto the pitch. The Hollywood ending almost came as he met an Aurelio corner, but his goal bound header was cleared by Gomes who sprawled the shot out of danger. It was the final chance of the game and a fitting end to Liverpool’s campaign and Sami Hyypia’s ten years service. Although no trophy was won, this season has brought a number of positives. It was Liverpool’s first unbeaten home programme for 21 years, with the team loosing only two matches away from home. Their 86 points tally is their highest in the Premier League, likewise their total of away wins is their highest in the Premier League and in March 2009, Reina then went on to become the quickest goalkeeper in Liverpool history to keep 100 clean sheets in all competitions. One feels that we are only a few short steps away from the biggest prize of all.

Match time and date: KO 16:00. 25 May 2009

Goals: Liverpool: Torres 31, Hutton 64 og, Benayoun 81. Tottenham Hotspur: Keane 77

Yellow cards: Tottenham Corluka.Referee: P Walton

Attendance: 43,937

Liverpool: (4-2-3-1): Reina; Carragher, Skrtel, Agger, Aurelio; Alonso, Mascherano; Kuyt (Riera, 65), Gerrard (Hyypia, 86), Benayoun; Torres (Ngog, 78). Substitutes not used: Cavalieri (gk), Lucas, Insua, Degan.

Tottenham Hotspur: (4-1-3-2): Gomes; Hutton, Corluka, King, Assou-Ekotto; Zokora; Modric, Jenas (Bentley, 39), Bale (Bent, 78); Defoe (Pavlyuchenko, 69), Keane. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Gunter, Campbell, Chimbonda.