Benitez anger as whistle goes early

May 24 2007 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

UNHAPPY Rafael Benitez believes Liverpool were denied the opportunity of another famous Champions League final comeback against AC Milan last night.

Having fallen behind to two Filippo Inzaghi goals, Dirk Kuyt’s 89th-minute striker gave the Anfield side hope of forcing extra time.

But there were still 19 seconds of the allotted three minutes of injury time remaining when German referee Herbert Fandel blew the final whistle, a stoppage period in which Milan made a substitution.

Benitez was clearly upset with the situation and said: “I counted something like two minutes 45 seconds and they said it would be three minutes. It could have made a difference but I don’t want to use that as an excuse.

“I had confidence we could make a comeback. I was surprised we didn’t have time.

“I was really disappointed. At the end of the day, you need to score the goals in 90 minutes.

“If you can play more time then that’s better, but we were playing well until we conceded the first goal.

“The first goal was lucky but that’s football. I was disappointed with two or three things. Everybody could see. But I don’t want to use them as an excuse.”