Rafa: Stoke draw teaches Liverpool of need to be patient

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LIVERPOOL: Rafa Benitez insisted Liverpool would learn their lesson after a frustrating 0-0 draw against Stoke City at Anfield.
Having beaten European champions Manchester United just a week earlier, Liverpool found promoted Stoke an impossible nut to crack on Saturday.
The Premier League new-boys packed their defence, suffocated the home side and could even have stolen the victory in the dying stages.
But after seeing his players fail to break down the Stoke defence, Benitez admitted that Liverpool must develop more patience and quality if they are to win the league this term.
He said: “We have to learn from this game for the future and try to find a better solution.
Shortlived joy: Steven Gerrard is congratulated by Robbie Keane (left) and Fernando Torres just before the goal was disallowed in the 0-0 draw with Stoke at Anfield on Saturday. — AFP
“We dominated possession and were shooting from outside box. We had so many chances, maybe 25-30, and still could not score, but that’s football and it happens sometimes.
“Maybe we just need to have more ability around the box and take more time when there are a lot of bodies in the way.
“The players worked very hard. They tried everything, but maybe we needed a little more ability in the last third to make use of all that possession and all those shots.”
Liverpool had what appeared to be a good goal ruled out after just two minutes when Steven Gerrard’s free-kick was ruled out by referee Andre Marriner for offside.
Had it stood, the goal would have been Gerrard’s 100th for Liverpool and Benitez admits that he has no idea why the referee disallowed the effort.
“Nobody knows why the goal was disallowed. Jamie Carragher asked the referee and he said that he disallowed it, not the linesman,” he said.
“It is unbelievable. In his position, how could the referee disallow the goal? I don’t need to ask him for an explanation because it is impossible for him to explain.
“I was watching the referee when the players were celebrating. I couldn’t believe it. It is more than unbelievable.”
Stoke had Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen to thank for their point and manager Tony Pulis €” whose team face Chelsea at the Britannia Stadium next Saturday €” admitted the draw was a huge result for his players.
Pulis said: “It’s a smashing result for us to come to one of the greatest clubs in the world and leave with a point.
“We got a decision with the goal being disallowed and, if you get a decision at Anfield, you can’t complain! I haven’t seen it yet, but TV replays suggest there wasn’t an offside in there, so I’ll take that good fortune.
“I didn’t give the players a day off last week because we have conceded a few soft goals lately and I wanted us to work on defending crosses in the box. Liverpool put a lot of crosses in, but we dealt with them fantastically all day.”