Chapter 1071 - 344: How a Bad Guy Is Made
Coaching Liverpool was actually not as comfortable as his initial experience with Valencia.
Liverpool lacks the sort of aggressive players like Vicente and Gonzalez, leaving his 4-2-3-1 without wings to exploit.
So he could only rely on the center.
Xabi Alonso was the organizational core, Gerrard was the attacking core, Mascherano was responsible for midfield sweeping, and the defense line was pushed forward to reduce the distance between the midfield and backfield—this was Liverpool’s foundation.
But Alonso’s departure turned Liverpool into a team of Gerrard and Pato.
Without an organizational core, Liverpool indeed became significantly weaker than before.
Even if the club promised to provide recruitment funds, he could not find a midfielder on the same level as Alonso, who could organize, defend, and deliver a great long pass.
This was just an objective constraint.
It’s not that he couldn’t beat Chelsea.
When Liverpool began to retract, the match became dull but effectively stifled Chelsea’s attack.
As a master of cup games.
Benitez was particularly adept at playing cup-style matches where outcomes are decided in one or two games.