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Benitez turns on beaten Liverpool

Author: Rose Young
Date: 01/10/2009
Football betting

Rafael Benitez slammed the mentality of his Liverpool players after they lost 2-0 to Fiorentina in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

Teenage striker Stevan Jovetic's first-half brace condemned the Reds to a defeat in Italy which has left them third in the Group E standings.

"In that first half we did not play well, there were too many mistakes and problems. We did improve, but it was not enough," claimed Benitez.

"Our mentality in that opening period was just not right, we were bad all over the pitch and I cannot really recall a performance like that.

Can the Reds bounce back and win the Champions League - Latest Football Betting

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has set his sights on swift qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League after Tuesday's 2-0 victory over Olympiacos.

The Gunners left it late but secured their second win from as many Group H games courtesy of goals in the final 12 minutes from Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson expects Owen Hargreaves' lengthy injury nightmare to finally end in November.

Ferguson has revealed that the England midfielder is 10 days away from resuming full training.

Hargreaves, whose time at Old Trafford has been blighted by injury, has been out of action for over a year following surgery to try and ease tendinitis problems in both knees.

Meanwhile, Ferguson believes Wayne Rooney is on the cusp of confirming his arrival as one of the best players in world football.

The England striker has stepped up following Cristiano Ronaldo's summer departure from Old Trafford and has scored seven goals in nine appearances for the Red Devils this season.

Wednesday's Champions League clash with Wolfsburg will mark Rooney's 50th appearance in the competition and Ferguson is excited about his recent rise.

Cricket captain Andrew Strauss shrugged off England's disappointing display in their four-wicket defeat to New Zealand and has set his sights on the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy.

England rounded off their Group B campaign with their first defeat of the tournament.

Strauss' online betting outsiders had already secured their progress to the last-four before struggling badly with the bat on a dubious wicket in Johannesburg.

After being left rocking on 3-13 early on, England rallied slightly before being bowled out for 146 in the 44th over.

Meanwhile, injured England batsman Kevin Pietersen remains hopeful of being back to fitness for the tour of South Africa later this year.

The 29-year-old is currently recovering from Achilles surgery which curtailed his involvement in this summer's Ashes series, but remains upbeat about his prospects for the return to the land of his birth.

In rugby union, Saracens have secured a prestigious game against South Africa at Wembley as part of the world champions' tour this autumn.

The Guinness Premiership leaders, who have already taken on Northampton Saints at Wembley this season, will go head-to-head with the World Cup and Tri-Nations winners on November 17.

The game will follow the Springboks' Test against France and prior to their meetings with Italy and Ireland.

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