• Premier League: What They Said

Benitez claims to be pleased with reception

Rafa Benitez thought he got a reasonable reception at Stamford Bridge © PA Photos

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted to see Shinji Kagawa show his form against Norwich, before revealing that Ryan Giggs' 1000th game should come against Real Madrid in midweek. Ferguson said: "He [Kagawa] is a good finisher. His injury in October, November set him back a bit, but he's getting his form back slowly and gradually. His second and third, in particular, were terrific.

"Ryan Giggs will be involved against Real Madrid, no doubt about it. It's a great moment, a great example for all young players to reach 1000 games as a professional. We've got a cushion, I expect City to win on Monday against Villa."

At the other end of the table, Harry Redknapp could not hide his delight at a big three points against Southampton. He said: "It was a big result for us, it's a difficult place to come and Southampton are a good team, but that's what you get when you all work hard. I picked 11 players to work hard and when you work hard you get your rewards.

"Loic Remy looked sharp off the right and took his goal well. It's just a case of getting him fit. Jay Bothroyd has not had many opportunities, I played him today and he did well. I don't see Southampton getting sucked into a relegation battle. They are a good side, although you never know."

Redknapp's opposite number, Mauricio Pochettino, was disappointed at the home defeat: "We have to accept that because we made some mistakes. We've tried very hard. We've put in a great effort to try and get a different kind of result.

"But because of some mistakes we have made and their goalkeeper's intervention a couple of times we didn't get a positive result."

At Stamford Bridge, Rafa Benitez at least saw his team as he was once again rountinely booed by the home fans: "There were a lot of positives. The reception from the crowd was quite good. I wanted everybody to stick together. I'm pleased. We could have scored three or four. It's a pity we couldn't score three or more goals.

"You can see today the fans were behind the team. Every game will be important from now. It's an important game tomorrow [Tottenham v Arsenal]."

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers hailed Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho after the pair helped his side beat Wigan 4-0. On Suarez, Rodgers said: "He's such a pleasure to work with. This is a man, and it might seem strange, who trains every day and wants to train every day. He is so hungry and has the humility.

"He is in there pleased for the team. He has quality, finishing, work-rate and that's what makes him world class."

On Coutinho, Rodgers added: "He is still picking up fitness and got another 60, 70 minutes today. You can see how he fits in to us. But this was a fantastic team performance."

Elsewhere, West Ham picked up the win against Stoke. Sam Allardyce said: "We had to overcome the blow of losing Matt Taylor and Joe Cole early on. It is a fantastic win and we deserved victory. When I saw Charlie Adam's late shot - because of the number of wonder goals that have gone in against us - I thought not again but we got a bit of luck. We got the victory we deserved."

Swansea City manager Michael Laudrup was pleased to see his side maintain their good form despite the potential distraction of recent Capital One Cup celebrations. He said: "There was a lot to be pleased about today. Firstly the win and secondly our attitude. I spoke in the week about the fact you sometimes see a negative reaction after a big win, but our reaction was an excellent first half where we showed lots of good touches, movement off the ball, and we created chances.

"It shows our maturity, sometimes with smaller teams when they do well and get recognition from the media you see a reaction in the game after. You can forget every game starts 0-0."

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