Rafa plays down nasty 'friendly'

Rafael Benitez dismissed the uproar that marred the end of Liverpool’s ill-tempered draw in Rotterdam tonight against Feyenoord.

The Liverpool manager saw six of his players booked – there were nine cautions in all during the 1-1 draw – and skipper Steven Gerrard come close to being sent off for a shove in the face of Feyenoord’s Theo Lucius as the game deteriorated into a melee involving most of the players on the pitch.