Thursday, 10th January, 2013
Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez has refused to criticise his team despite last night’s 2-0 defeat at home against Swansea City in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final.
Benitez’s side dominated the encounter at Stamford Bridge, controlling the game with 64% of the possession and also peppering the Swansea goal with shots; 24 registered on the night to Swansea’s five.
But goals from Spanish sensation Michu, in the first half, and striker Danny Graham, at the death in the second, sent Michael Laudrup’s men back to Wales with a comfortable 2-0 win in their pockets.
However, the second leg is still to come and Benitez was pleased with his team’s performance, despite the defeat.
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"The team was doing really well. We had a lot of chances and could have scored two or three in the first half, one or two in the second", he told his club’s official site.
"We made two mistakes and paid for them. The team was attacking, had plenty of possession and creating the chances we had to against a good team and made two mistakes, and conceded two goals.
"The way we played, the control we had, for me, is what we have to do. We have to be more clinical in front of goal and take these chances but we were doing a lot of these things really well."
And the Spaniard clearly concluded that "if we played this game ten times, maybe we would win nine of them".
Chelsea must now switch their attention back to Premier League duty however, with a tough looking trip to face Stoke City to come on Saturday. The semi-final second leg is on Wednesday 23rd January at the Liberty Stadium.
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