Rafa praises Gerrard's restraint

Gerrard: Praised for not reacting

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Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has praised Steven Gerrard for not reacting to being hit by missiles from Marseille fans.

Gerrard, who scored the winner against Marseille at Anfield on Wednesday night, was targeted by some of the visiting fans as he prepared to take a corner.

The Liverpool skipper appeared to have been hit by cigarette lighter, but he shrugged off the incident and carried on playing.

Benitez praised Gerrard's restraint after Chelsea's Didier Drogba was punished by the FA for throwing a coin back into the crowd when the Blues lost in the Carling Cup to Burnley.

Benitez said: "Gerrard was really good in that incident, maybe the Uefa delegate will notice what happened. Steven did well not to react."

Gerrard admitted it was important he kept his cool despite coming under attack from the crowd.

"It was very important not to react to things being thrown," said Gerrard.

"The best thing you can do with these people is to ignore them and let the police deal with it."

Meanwhile, Uefa have confirmed they will study reports on the missile-throwing incident.

Uefa have revealed the incident will be included in Portuguese referee Olegario Benquerenca's report as well as the report from Uefa delegate Svein Johannessen.

A spokesman for Uefa at the game said: "The incident will be included in both the match delegate's report and the referee's report.

"Uefa are aware of what happened and any further comment will now come from them."