Thierry Henry slams Liverpool after the Champions League match against Benfica
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has slammed Liverpool for their performance against Benfica in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
The Reds won the first leg 3-1 away from home. They started the second leg brightly and went 3-1 up only for Benfica to make it 3-3 at Anfield. The tie ended 6-4 in favor of the Reds, who will now take on Villareal in the semifinals.
However, the Reds’ slack off in the second half at Anfield has drawn criticism from Thierry Henry. The former Gunners forward has warned the Reds saying that Jurgen Klopp cannot afford to be so lax against Villareal.
Benfica might not have threatened Liverpool’s overall fate in the tie, but their performance did put the Reds on the backfoot. They came into the match with a changed line-up, giving rest to their key players for their weekend FA Cup clash against Manchester City.
Klopp’s decision to take Benfica lightly could be repeated again given they face Villareal in the semifinals. Henry has warned Klopp not to take the yellow submarine team lightly.
Speaking to CBS Sports after Liverpool’s match against Benfica, Henry highlighted.
“Jamie (Carragher) I know you’re not too happy about that, the high line at 3-1,” said Henry. “You can’t play like that against Villarreal. You can’t do those mistakes. I mean the job was done. But you don’t want to see that.”
He added:
“As a coach, I am sure Klopp will address that and we know it won’t be the same back four against Villarreal. But that’s twice. Losing against Inter. Briefly against Benfica. But they are through. Although, be careful.”
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson says the team is ‘disappointed’ with the goals conceded against Benfica
Reds skipper Jordan Henderson admitted that he team was disappointed with the late goals conceded against Benfica. The Portuguese team scored thrice but it was too little too late for them to topple the Reds.
Speaking to BT Sport after the match, Henderson accepted the mistakes his team made and expressed disappointed with the performance:
“I think we’d want to do better overall. But at the same time, I still felt as though we started the game really well. In the first half we could’ve scored one or two more. I think we’ll be really disappointed with the goals that we’ve conceded, so there is plenty of stuff we can be better at. We knew it was going to be tough, at 3-1 it’s never over, as you’ve seen last night.”
