Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez has discussed why he left Ryan Babel on the bench for the game with Stoke City. The Spaniard revealed that there was no bad blood between the two after the discussion.

On the subject of Babel, Benitez said: “We have to concentrate on the next game with the players we have available. If Ryan trains hard and is ready to play he will be available. If not, he won’t be available. I was talking with Ryan one week ago and I explained the situation very clearly to him.

“After the meeting everything was fine. He was working and he was on the bench and he played against Reading. After this game I decided he would not be on the bench and that is it.”