Benitez blasts refs after Liverpool loss

Tottenham Hotspur produced the first major upset of the new Premier League season on Sunday, consigning visiting Liverpool to an opening day loss at White Hart Lane.

Liverpool’s dreams of ending a 20 year long wait for a Premier League title were dealt a heavy blow as two Tottenham defenders, Sebastien Bassong and Benoit Assou-Ekotto, scored for their club to hand Liverpool a 2-1 defeat.

Rafael Benitez dealt with the shock loss by taking the tried and trusted route of blaming the referees for the outcome of the match.

“With this referee I knew (victory) wasn’t possible,” Benitez said. “Everybody could see it was a clear penalty when Benoit Assou-Ekotto fouled Andriy Voronin and then again when the same player handballed.”

Once Benitez had calmed down he admitted that there had been problems with Liverpool’s service to its strikers. Liverpool’s only goal of the match came off a penalty, with the attack showing little sign of creativity or flair.

“We did not play well in the first half,” Benitez said. “Clearly, we have to improve if we want to win these types of games. We have to improve in the middle, keeping the ball. The understanding has to be better.”