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Benitez: Don't blame Sissoko
RAFA BENITEZ is ready to take the rap for midfielder Momo Sissoko’s recent loss of form.
And the Reds boss believes the young African will bounce back from his travails to become a mainstay of the Liverpool squad for years to come.
Since returning from a lengthy absence with a dislocated shoulder, Sissoko has failed to recapture the heights he scaled during a highly impressive first season in English football.
Against Middlesbrough on Wednesday night he endured his most ineffective appearance to date, before he was hauled off just six minutes after the interval.
With Steven Gerrard back in his vacated central midfield berth, Liverpool went on to win 2-0, with the skipper scoring both goals.
But Benitez said today that fans should point the finger at the manager rather than the young midfielder.
“I knew that Momo was having some problems in that position on Wednesday, but that was more my fault than his fault,” said Benitez. “I said to him ‘play here and try to do your best’ because I wanted to play a different system, but he had problems because the other team was compact and very narrow.
“They constricted the space between the lines and for him to play in this position was a big problem.
“But I wanted to check out another system.
“It was more my fault than his, but at the end of the day people must remember he is 22-years-old and has done a very good job, a fantastic job, for two seasons and we must support him.”
Benitez revealed that he spoke to Sissoko the morning after the Middlesbrough match and reassured him.
“He sometimes needs an arm around him because he loses confidence, but never because he has stopped working,” said the Reds boss.
“I spoke to him on Thursday and I said ‘I don’t have any problems. Keep working. I have a lot of confidence in you.’
“I said I know there are former players and people here in Liverpool who are talking, but I say if you work hard the supporters will be with you.
“If you make mistakes keep working and keep doing the same things and the people will be with you.
“Everybody knows what Momo Sissoko gives to us. He works really hard and he was a key player for us against Barcelona and lots of other games.
“Also, he is a player who can give freedom to Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso.
“But we must be patient with him. If a player is not working hard, okay you can criticise him.
“He is working really hard and he has also played very well after a bad injury, so I say we must be calm and support the player.
“He is a young player and he will have maybe eight or 10 years at this level.
“Momo is a very good worker and he needs to be more confident with the ball. He’s a professional player and he wants to do the best every time.”
While Sissoko has struggled in recent weeks, Argentinean international Javier Mascherano has stepped in and looked like he has been an Anfield regular his whole life.
But Benitez believes it is an unfair comparison.
“The problem now is we have another very good player in Mascherano and you can see the difference,” he explained.
“Mascherano is also 22, but he has 20 caps for Argentina so he has experience. He can analyse and read the game and play the football that you need.
“Momo is a worker. Physically, he is really good, but maybe he will need one or two more years to have the same experience that Mascherano has now.
“I have known him since he arrived at Valencia as an 18-year-old. People thought he was more experienced than he was even then.
“The problem for Momo has been the injury. Then, when he recovered, Mascherano was playing well.
“You must be very consistent to get in ahead of Xabi Alonso, Steven Gerrard and Javier Mascherano, and he is still a very young player.” |
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樓主: 奧雲仔仔
發表於 07-4-20 06:55 PM
發表於 07-4-20 07:44 PM
唔知邊個搵d馬仔衝埋去個八陣圖度,又或者搵1隻馬仔打城呢
