Rafa always had faith in Robbie

Reds boss also happy to see Torres make comeback

Last updated: 8th November 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Rafa always had faith in Robbie

Benitez: Pleased for Keane

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Rafa Benitez insists he never doubted that Robbie Keane would score goals on a regular basis for Liverpool.

Keane has endured a lean time in front of goal since his summer move from Tottenham Hotspur and had scored just twice in 18 appearances before Saturday's game against West Brom.

However, the Irishman showed his old sparkle to score twice in the first half to set Liverpool on their way to a comfortable 3-0 win at Anfield.

The goals were Keane's first in the Premier League for the Reds and Benitez is happy that the striker is off the mark on the domestic front.

Monkey off his back

"I have always wanted to support Robbie, he has been playing and contributing to our victories," said Benitez.

"I have had no doubts that he would start to score regularly for us. Robbie has told me he has got a monkey off his back, not an expression I had heard before but I understand what he meant.

"Robbie has game intelligence and he is always a threat to defenders. It was only a matter of time before he scored in the league.

"He is quick and can punish any mistakes that defenders make, and that is what he did."

Benitez also explained his reasons for not leaving Keane on the pitch in the final stages to try to complete his hat-trick as Fernando Torres made his return from a hamstring injury.

He said: "We needed to get Fernando Torres into the game, we needed his pace to complete the victory and maybe get the third.

"Fernando is not match-fit, but we needed to get him into the action. We had some tired players out there, Robbie was trying hard but Fernando was important to us in the final stages."