Rafael Benitez has spoken of his pride for his players and felt Liverpool deserved to win the FIFA Club World Championship in the aftermath of the 1-0 defeat to Sao Paulo.
The Liverpool manager couldn't hide his disappointment at some of the decisions which went against his team and added his team couldn't have done any more to win the game.
"The first thing I can say is congratulations to my players and we deserved to win," Benitez commented.
"We had 21 shots and 17 corners and we hit the bar twice, we scored three goals but what can you do? We couldn't have done anymore to win.
"I am not happy with a lot of things from the game but I am very happy with my players and we did everything possible for winning. I would like to know what is a red card as Lugano should have been sent-off for the foul on Gerrard. Why did we only play three minutes of stoppage time at the end of the game as there should have been at least five minutes.
"We know the goal from Sinama-Pongolle was a clear goal. I have tried to show respect for Sao Paulo because it is a good team but we deserved to win and we controlled the game. You don't normally see a team from Brazil defending like they did."
Couldn't agree more with the man. We dominated 95 % of the game, especially in the second half. They hardly crossed the half-way line in the second half, Brazilians defending for their lives, who would had thought?
Blame it on Rafa's selection, but his selection dominated the game and should had won. The subs might have made a bigger impact earlier but we fielded a good enough side to beat Sau Paulo.