Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez blamed missed chances for their 2-0 defeat to Portuguese club Benfica that saw them crash out of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. "We are really disappointed but if you analyse the game we created good chances but just couldn't score," Benitez to the official Liverpool website on Wednesday. Benfica qualified to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since the 1994/1995 season after edging Liverpool with a 3-0 aggregate win. "The first 20 minutes we started with a good tempo and were better than Benfica but you need to score. We didn't and Benfica got more into the game and played good counter attacks and defended well. "As well as not being able to score we then made a mistake in defence and when they scored it changed everything. We couldn't control the midfield and Benfica did a good job. The second goal at the end didn't matter really," Benitez added.
Benfica boss Ronald Koeman Nevertheless, the Spanish caretaker praised the club fans' support and urged them to stand by their club so they could continue their Premiership and FA Cup campaigns. "We have the best supporters in the world and they were fantastic once again and we tried until the end for them, but as I said we just couldn't score. We now have to look to the next game against Arsenal and concentrate on the Premiership and FA Cup," Benitez said. On the other hand, Benfica head coach Ronald Koeman voiced his happiness in defeating Liverpool and qualifying to the quarter-finals, but insisted that luck played a pivotal role in their victory. "In the first 30 minutes they played well and had two or three big chances to score. We scored the goal from Simao and we played better. In the second half they tried again - but they did not have the opportunities they had in the first half. "We needed to be lucky. If you are not lucky you cannot beat a team like Liverpool," Koeman insisted.
