Rafa refuses to blame freak goal

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has refused to blame the freak goal for Liverpool's shock 1-0 loss to Sunderland on Saturday, despite the rule book suggesting that the referee should have disallowed it. The Black Cats bagged the win when a Darren Bent shot deflected off a beach ball that had been thrown onto the pitch, leaving Reds goalkeeper Pepe Reina stranded. "It's a very technical question. It could be a goal, it's difficult to say. These things can happen in a lot of games. But we didn't play well, that is the main thing for me."