Rafa Benitez has explained why he withdrew Kenedy early in the second half of Saturday's 2-1 loss to Manchester City.

The Brazilian winger, on loan from Chelsea this season, was playing brilliantly up until half-time at the Etihad. But Benitez has said that the 22-year-old wasn't feeling well during the break.

"He had some headaches," the Spaniard stated. "He was a little bit down.

"We could see at half time that he was not fine, but he wanted to continue. We could see he was not fine, though."