Benitez praises Pepe Reina

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has praised Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina for being the fastest ever goalkeeper in the club's history to reach 50 clean sheets. Reina racked up 50 clean sheets in 92 games to surpass Clemence's previous benchmark of 95 appearances.

"I have been talking about how good 'Pepe' (Reina) is for a very long time," said Benitez.

"For him to keep 50 clean sheets since he joined the club is a terrific performance.

"And it is a goalkeeper of Ray Clemence's quality that he has beaten. Not just any goalkeeper but one of the club's greats in Clemence. That shows how good Reina has had to be.

"But it also underlines the standard of defending. A keeper cannot have 50 clean sheets if the players in front of him are not doing their job.

"Now this is something we must repeat, another 50 cleans sheets from Pepe in the same way would be ideal for us.

"It is much easier for our strikers to score goals if they know we do not have any problems in defence."