Rafa: Playing Gerrard out of position was the right option

Rafa was very pleased with the positive impact playing Gerrard on the right had on the team:

"Steve is happy there, he understands the tactics and he is always thinking about the benefits to the team.
"He knows it is important for us to have this balance and okay, it will be another possibility for me to consider."
"With Steve on the right side he has a lot of freedom, we then have more options there.
"We can also play Sissoko and Alonso together in the middle and it means we are able to regain a lot of possession and attack well
"While with Luis Garcia on the left we have a winger that allows us to play two strikers, attacking players behind the front men and a better balance.
"Steve and Luis change their positions many times, swapping and moving inside, and that makes it more difficult to control them. Both can play 'between the lines' and wide. Both can shoot and when we see Luis scoring goals like that (against Anderlecht) it means both can head the ball too.
"It is also important to us to have all these players with quality together. Steve is a good player and to be able to have him playing with Alonso, Luis Garcia and two strikers (means) it is a more offensive team."

Some of the free flowing attacking football we produced, particularly in the second half, was superb. If this is how we play when our team is balanced we will have much to look forward to under Rafa.

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