Rafa: Gerrard understands

Reds boss defends skipper's substitution

By Mark Buckingham   Last updated: 23rd October 2007

gerrard steven

Gerrard: Hurt

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Rafa Benitez does not expect his weekend substitution of Steven Gerrard to have any long-term implications for Liverpool.

Gerrard was replaced during Saturday's 2-1 win at local rivals Everton and has admitted to being 'hurt and disappointed' by the decision.

Reds boss Benitez has discussed the matter with his skipper and feels his decision was justified by Lucas Levia's role in securing the decisive penalty.

"Normally you can understand the reaction because it's a derby and it was special," said Benitez on Sky Sports News.

Key player

"Stevie is a key player and I think everything will be the same, in terms of if I need to use him I will use him for sure, and if I need to replace him he knows that it's thinking about the best for the team.

"After talking to him he knows my idea. As a manager you need to make decisions in the moment.

"In this case Lucas Levia was a big part of the victory, so I think that everything was okay."

Focused

Liverpool now head to Istanbul to tackle Besiktas on Wednesday and Benitez is aware of the importance of winning the match following one point from two UEFA Champions League games.

He added: "It's clear we need to go to Istanbul and try to win, and see what happens in the other game.

"We just have to wait, keep working and think about winning every game.

"I think they (the players) have the experience, they don't need to say anything. They know how important it is to win the game, keep focused and do the right things during the game."