Rafa Benitez blamed Liverpool's players, not his zonal marking system, for the goals conceded against Chelsea on Wednesday night.

Benitez said: "It is not the system. It is the mistakes that were made by players.

"If you analyse Chelsea, they have Drogba, Terry, Alex, Ballack, Essien, Ivanovic. It is very difficult to stop all of them at set-pieces. They are all very tall, and if you make a mistake you are punished.

"This system has worked very well - just look at how many goals we conceded from set plays in my time. It is as good as - if not better - than most teams."