Rafael Benitez
Rafael Benitez
Rafael "Rafa" Benítez Maudesis a Spanish football coach currently managing Newcastle United. He is the only manager in history to have won the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup...
ProfessionSoccer Player
Date of Birth16 April 1960
CityMadrid, Spain
controlled goal half tempo
We controlled the tempo in the first half but after we conceded the goal it was difficult.
against character difficult football good half possible second strong
Bolton are very difficult to play against and they had a lot of free-kicks and throw-ins and you can't play the football you want to play. I like to play football as well as possible and in the second half we were very good and had a strong character to come from behind.
finish game goalkeeper goals halftime happy performance played players team third
I am happy with the performance of the team but we should have scored more goals and their goalkeeper played very well. I told the players at halftime to finish the game off but we couldn't get the third goal.
ball became chances chelsea control created defense deserved difficult enjoy finish good half hard kept playing points second sheet team top worked
We deserved to finish top because we have more points than the other teams. We done a good job, kept another clean- sheet and created some chances on the counter-attack. It was important for us to control the midfield. However, this became more difficult in the second half when Chelsea started playing long ball but the team worked hard in defense and we must enjoy this moment.
against fantastic half nine pitch played remember tempo
I remember they had fantastic players. They played nine against nine on a half pitch and the tempo was amazing.
crowded decisive final half middle park pass second
The final pass wasn't there in decisive moments. In the second half they crowded the middle of the park and we didn't have much in the way of chances.
air good team
I know this player. He is good in the air and can make this team stronger.
competition country pleased supporters
I know that this competition is important for the whole country and also to our supporters so I am pleased we are through.
advantage against atmosphere behind expecting fans fight good knew team
It was against a team that we would be expecting to fight for qualification. They are a very good team at home, with their fans behind them But I had an advantage in that I knew the team and knew the atmosphere here.
against expecting fight team
It was against a team that we would be expecting to fight for qualification,
either fair games gone
It was a fair result, one of those games which could have gone either way,
afford cannot finish goal needed opposition ourselves second
There was a nervousness there and we've put ourselves under pressure. When you are not scoring, you cannot afford to give the opposition one or two chances. We needed that second goal to finish the game.
attempts delighted goal performance result score seemed shot today
I'm delighted with the result and also the performance. Sometimes you can't score a goal with 30 attempts but today it seemed every shot was a goal.
delighted easy final men supporters win
I'm delighted with the players, the supporters and the final score. It's not easy to play with 10 men for a long time, but we have done all the things you need to do to win with 10 players.