Napoli manager Rafael Benitez believes that a large number of Chelsea fans never took to him during his interim stint because of the success he had with Liverpool.

The Spaniard, who won the Champions League with the Reds in the year that they dumped out the Blues in the semi-finals, moved to Stamford Bridge temporarily last season.

"They remembered the successes we had with Liverpool against them, against that powerful Chelsea, and maybe that was stuck in their head," Benitez told Marca. "That was past. We could not change."

Benitez, who was Liverpool manager from 2004 to 2010, led Chelsea to Europa League glory during his time in charge.