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Drogba says Benitez 'lacks class' after diving row

30/04/2008

Didier Drogba has accused Rafael Benitez of showing a 'lack of class' after the Liverpool boss made comments about the Chelsea striker's alleged diving.

Benitez made the comments in the build-up to tonight's Champions League semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge, with the tie delicately poised at 1-1.

Drogba told French newspaper L'Equipe: "Benitez was a coach I used to respect a lot. I used to believe he had class but he has seriously disappointed me.

"His words have shown his weakness. A great coach will never attack a player so meanly."

In comments reported yesterday, Benitez said the Ivorian international frequently went down too easily under pressure from other players and this reflected badly on him as a player.

But in response, Drogba has issued a counter-claim against the Spaniard's team - saying he would not go down so often if the Reds were more focused on fair play.

"If he doesn't want me to fall down he should focus on his team's game and tell his defenders to stop fouling me," Drogba continued.

"In the first leg, [Liverpool defenders Jamie] Carragher and [Martin] Skrtel didn't stop. At the end of the match I was covered in bruises.

"Last year, I picked up a broken rib during the Champions League semi-final against Liverpool.

"Unsurprisingly, Benitez didn't take note of this in his statistics."

The Blues are slight favourites for tonight's tie after Liverpool defender John Arne Riise scored a bizarre own goal in injury time at Anfield.

In order to progress, the Reds must score at the Bridge - something they have failed to do since Bruno Cheyrou in January 2004 when Gerrard Houllier was manager.