RAFA ON STEVIE'S MISTAKE

Monday 27th March 2006
ANFIELD ONLINE LFC NEWS

RAFA ON STEVIE'S MISTAKE

Rafael Benitez has discussed Steven Gerrard's 'minute of madness' in which the captain picked up two yellow cards and was sent off in the 203rd Merseyside derby.

"For me the most important thing from Saturday is to say, okay, this is a situation we can learn from for the future.

"Maybe it's good for us, after the game we have won, to say to the players 'be careful, these kind of mistakes can hurt you.'

"Then if you play in the FA Cup, for example, which is a one-off game, you know you must be calm, you must show control.

"We spoke before the game that we needed to use the brain and the heart, but sometimes it's not easy.

"The first yellow card was a mistake, the second incident came too soon after that, but we can learn from these things for the future - for important games."

The Reds boss also dismissed suggestions that Gerrard's red card, coming so soon after the late aberration at Highbury, was evidence the player's marathon season was finally beginning to catch up with him mentally.

"No, I don't think Steven is tired or suffering mental burn-out," he scoffed. "He just made a mistake. He has seen a yellow card and his team is under pressure and he has tried to tackle."

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