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
against arsenal drop ensure finish means normally points three top win
We have 70 points and that would normally ensure you finish in the top three now. One more win should be enough (to finish in the top three) because Spurs have got to play against Arsenal so that means one of them will drop points.
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.
chances game good lost points win
We had good chances to win the game and in the end it is two points lost for us,
chelsea gaps improve ourselves points start thinking
But if you start thinking about gaps in September, it is wrong. There are a lot of points to play for and we do not need to think about Chelsea or other teams, only how to improve ourselves in each game.
afterwards players
The players said to me afterwards 'yes, it was clear',
brussels good job leg win
We did a very good job in Brussels in the first leg to win 1-0,
against good mistakes punish team
When you play against a very good team with good players, you know that if you make mistakes they will punish you.
controlled goal half tempo
We controlled the tempo in the first half but after we conceded the goal it was difficult.
cannot change talk team worked
We need to change things and to improve, but you cannot talk about the work-rate because the team worked very hard.
good talking
When you are talking about good players, they are always in the spotlight.
area key midfield people six talking
When I was six years old people were talking about the midfield as the key area of the pitch.
calls early phone sign tried until yesterday
We tried until the very end to sign Michael. We even made phone calls early yesterday morning. In the end, it was impossible.
game lost
We lost a game that we were controlling.
result wait
We will wait to see the result of the scan.