Rafa: We can't blame freak goal

Rafa Benitez refused to blame the manner of Darren Bent's bizarre winner for Liverpool's fourth defeat of the season - and admitted his side need to improve to keep their title dream alive.

Bent sealed a 1-0 win for Sunderland after his fifth-minute strike deflected off an inflatable ball thrown on to the pitch by a supporter.
 
But Benitez said: "It was a special situation but we didn't play well. The goal changed the game but we didn't play well, made some mistakes and gave the ball away. After this they played well on the counter-attack. They had some chances and when we had our chances we didn't take them.
 
"These things can happen in a lot of games. It's a bad situation for us that the (inflatable) ball was in the middle and was influential but again I will say we didn't play well - that's the main thing for me.
 
"We had some players who we knew could be a little bit tired, and then conceding after four minutes it was even more difficult. We have to do better if we want to win these kind of games."
 
Asked if he thought the goal should have been allowed, Benitez replied: "It's a very technical question but it could be because it could have been a goal anyway."
 
Despite the result, Benitez can take consolation in Chelsea's defeat at Aston Villa which means the gap to the top increased by just a single point to seven.
 
Manchester United rose to the summit thanks to a victory over Bolton but with Alex Ferguson's men visiting Anfield next Sunday, Benitez knows there will be plenty of opportunities to make up ground.
 
He said: "In a normal season teams at the top would be winning every game and it would be a long distance to the top now but Chelsea have lost two games and I think we'll see a lot of top teams lose games.
 
"Losing four games is bad but crucial? That depends on the next few games. If we can win two or three games in a row we can be at the top of the table. It's a question of keeping our confidence, working hard and trying to do better.
 
"We have an important game on Tuesday and then on Sunday. It's not important to talk about the table, we just have to think about getting three points in every game.
 
"You have to analyse some things. We made some mistakes and we need to find solutions.
 
"We won five or six games in a row, so I think we were fixing things, but in these difficult games we need to improve."
 
Liverpool went into the game without injured duo Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
 
On whether they will be fit for Tuesday's home match with Lyon, Benitez said: "Both are improving but it's too soon to say. We'll see again with the physios on Sunday.
 
"We have two or three days and we'll see how they progress. They are improving but it's difficult to say if they can be available. We think they can be but it's too soon to say."