"I try to win every game. But sometimes when it is not easy and you have options on the bench and you can protect key players, then you have to," said Benitez.
"It was clear some players were tired. We knew it would be a difficult game at Reading and wanted to change some players because we knew they were tired and it could be a risk. The pitch was heavy, but 3-1 down and time running out I thought we needed fresh legs and to protect our key players. If we are fit and have fresh legs, then maybe we can score the winning goal in the last 10 minutes in Marseille.
"When you take decisions it is because you believe it is the best. In this case, I was trying to protect the players.
"I know Steven wants to play to the end of every game, the same with Carra and Torres, but I needed to think about whether I could change things in the game and, if it's difficult to do that, I start thinking about the next one.
"Some of our players have been playing a lot of games in a row. Sami Hyypia is 34 years old now and was really tired, so as a manager you need to make decisions because you know your players. I was thinking about what is best for my players."
