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TUESDAY 3 |
Rafa hails Reds reaction
Rafa Benitez today heaped praise on his Liverpool charges
after bouncing back from Saturday's defeat to Middlesbrough
with a convincing 2-0 victory over Sunderland at Anfield.
Benitez told reporters after the match that the win was the
perfect tonic to lift the players' confidence and said:
"Clearly after the defeat of the other day it was very
important to get three points and try to play a good game.
"I think that David Ngog did a very good job, he had a good
game. Yossi Benayoun also played well and Pepe Rein was also
very important for us when he saved early on in the game.
"But the whole team was always trying to pass the ball, we
were very well organised. They were very good on the counter
attack so we had to keep calm - we created a lot of
chances."
(LFC Official Website)
Black Cats prove
a lucky omen for Liverpool
Liverpool will welcome Real Madrid to an impenetrable
Anfield fortress after they beat Sunderland 2-0 on Tuesday.
The Reds have not lost at home all season and, with the
league title now a distant hope, they at least made sure
they rediscovered a goalscoring touch ahead of their
Champions League assault as David N’Gog and Yossi Benayoun
secured a deserved victory.
Sunderland arrived on Merseyside having never won at Anfield
in The Premier League, yet they looked like they might claim
a draw as Liverpool struggled for first-half thrust ahead of
their second leg with Real Madrid.
Rafa Benitez’s pre-match rallying cry challenged his players
to earn their place in that Madrid clash and you can imagine
he reiterated those same words at half time – which saw a
rejuvenated Red army attack The Kop in the second half.
(Setanta Sports)
Loan in balance after Leto lets fly
Liverpool midfielder Sebastian Leto's loan spell at
Olympiacos may be over, following a bust-up with the club's
coach Ernesto Valverde.
Leto signed a one-year loan deal with Olympiacos in the
summer because he could not secure a work permit to play in
the Premier League this season.
He was sent to the dressing room during yesterday's training
session after he began kicking footballs around wildly, and
some hit Valverde's assistant and the coach himself.
The 22-year-old Argentinian was surprisingly left out of the
squad for Sunday's top-of-the-table clash with Panathinaikos
and began his temper tantrum after also being given a
dressing-down in the training session by Valverde when
refusing to train with the rest of the team.
Valverde made the unusual move of issuing a personal
statement on Tuesday night, confirming: "During yesterday's
training there was an issue with Sebastian Leto, which for
the umpteenth time was a disciplinary offence - forcing me
to send him to the dressing room.
"I have informed the administration about this particular
incident, and it is now up to them to decide the action
needed. As I have said in the past, discipline is a
fundamental concern for the calmness of the team."
(TEAMtalk)
Ngog starts v Sunderland
David Ngog makes his first home league start in tonight's
Barclays Premier League clash with Sunderland.
The French striker will partner Dirk Kuyt up front, while
Javier Mascherano takes up a position on the right side of
defence as Rafa Benitez makes four changes from the 2-0
defeat to Middlesbrough.
Liverpool line-up in full: Reina, Mascherano, Carragher,
Skrtel, Insua, Benayoun, Gerrard, Alonso, Riera, Ngog, Kuyt.
Subs: Cavalieri, Dossena, Hyypia, Aurelio, Babel, Lucas, El
Zhar.
(LFC Official Website)
Dalglish breaks Hillsborough silence
Kenny Dalglish has broken his silence on the Hillsborough
disaster, saying police and officials should have delayed
the kick-off.
Ninety-six fans were crushed to death at Sheffield
Wednesday's stadium as Liverpool took on Nottingham Forest
in an FA Cup semi-final on
April 15 1989.
In a moving tribute Dalglish, who was manager of Liverpool
at the time of the disaster, speaks about the events at
Hillsborough on camera for the very first time in a
documentary to be broadcast on the 20th anniversary of the
disaster.
He joins families who lost loved ones, survivors, and
players as they discuss what happened on that fateful day in
Sheffield.
Dalglish said: "The easiest thing to do is just to put the
kick-off back a bit. That's no problem for anybody.
"If the police are talking to the FA and the FA have got to
make that call, there wouldn't have been any resentment or
disagreement with the people in the dressing room, neither
Brian Clough nor ourselves certainly.
"It's something that everybody wished had never happened but
I think it's also something that nobody should forget."
Dalglish added: "We made sure somebody with Liverpool
connections was at every funeral and I think the families
really respected that.
"The boys weren't obtrusive in any way, they sat back and
let the families get on with the grieving but they were
there, their presence was there, but they didn't need to
have anybody coming up and telling them how grateful they
were to have been there, they were there because they wanted
to be there."
Hillsborough Remembered is on the History Channel on April
15 at 8pm.
(TEAMtalk)
Rafa warns Reds’ stars
Rafa Benitez today warned his players they will be
auditioning for places against Real Madrid when they take on
Sunderland at Anfield tonight.
The Reds boss remains bitterly disappointed with the manner
of Liverpool’s defeat at Middlesbrough at the weekend which
put a severe dent in their hopes of winning the Premier
League.
Now he wants an instant reaction to that setback and is
dangling the carrot of starting places in his team for next
week’s eagerly awaited Champions League clash with Real as
an added incentive.
Benitez said: “I think that it is important for the players
to understand that we are now checking everyone and
analysing everything so they have to prove in every training
session and in every game that they are ready for playing
against Real Madrid.
“We are thinking about winning the Champions League as a
major opportunity to win a trophy and the game coming up
against Madrid as a chance to be in the next round where we
want to be.”
(Liverpool Echo)
Reds eye up Valencia ace
Liverpool are keeping close tabs on Spain international Raul
Albiol, skysports.com understands.
The Valencia defender is rated amongst the best in La Liga,
but money problems at The Mestalla could see them lose a
number of their top stars.
And Albiol may be one of the first to depart with a host of
clubs checking on his progress.
Valencia's sporting director Fernando Gomez has admitted the
club would have to consider any reasonable offers, and also
confirmed they were aware of scouts from Liverpool tracking
Albiol.
(Sky Sports) |
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MONDAY 2 |
Benitez: Torres injuries cost us
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez says his side would be
closer to Manchester United in the title race were it not
for injuries to Fernando Torres.
The Spanish striker will be missing again with an ankle
injury when Liverpool host Sunderland on Tuesday.
"The worst thing has been the injuries to Torres," said
Benitez. "He has been our main striker and scored a lot of
goals for us last season.
"And this season could have been totally different with
him."
(BBC Sport Online)
Gerrard and Torres injury latest
Steven Gerrard looks set to face Sunderland on Tuesday
despite hobbling out of the 2-0 defeat to Middlesbrough.
The skipper suffered cramp during the closing stages at the
Riverside but trained alongside his teammates this morning.
However, Rafa Benitez will again be without Fernando Torres,
Alvaro Arbeloa and Daniel Agger when Ricky Sbragia's side
visit Anfield.
The gaffer told Liverpoolfc.tv: "Stevie was okay and will
hopefully be available tomorrow.
"Torres is not ready yet. We have to wait to see how he
progresses but he won't be in the squad.
"Arbeloa has a problem with his hamstring. He's had the
problem before. It could be another week."
(LFC Official Website)
Aurelio rues Boro defeat
Liverpool defender Fabio Aurelio admitted the weekend defeat
by Middlesbrough was a missed opportunity in the title race.
Aurelio admits the players were disappointed with the manner
of the defeat at Middlesbrough and has called on his
team-mates to get back to winning ways against Sunderland on
Tuesday night.
"We are very disappointed because we felt we had enough
chances to win the game in the first half," Aurelio told the
club's official website.
"We lost a great opportunity to try to get closer to
Manchester United but we must bounce back now and beat
Sunderland at Anfield on Tuesday night."
(Sky Sports)
Liverpool FC have
blown title race
Middlesbrough defender David Wheater believes Liverpool lost
their chance of winning the Premier League title with defeat
at Riverside.
“You could almost say when we scored our second goal that it
was the moment they lost the title.
“It’s Manchester United all the way, most people know that.
They will push them but they won’t win it.”
(Liverpool Daily Post)
Big guns will face Liverpool
Sunderland strikers Kenwyne Jones and Djibril Cisse will be
fit to face Liverpool at Anfield tomorrow night.
Cisse could return against his former club having missed the
Black Cats game at Arsenal with an ankle knock.
Liverpool's title challenge came to a shuddering halt on
Saturday when they were beaten 2-0 by Middlesbrough, so does
the Sunderland manager believe it's a good time to be going
to Anfield.
(Sunderland Echo) |
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SUNDAY 1 |
Voronin has plans with Hertha
Hertha Berlin forward Andrei Voronin is hopeful his
performance in the win over Borussia Monchengladbach can
help him earn a permanent deal.
His goal set Hertha on their way to a 2-1 victory on
Saturday, a result which moved the club back to the top of
the table.
And Voronin knows the only way Hertha can afford to make his
loan move from Liverpool a permanent one is by firing the
team into the Champions League next season.
"I want to try and score as many goals as possible for
Hertha and hope my goals help Hertha to reach their goals
for the season," he said.
"I have always said I would like to stay. The rest is up to
my agent and general manager (Dieter) Hoeness to resolve."
(TEAMtalk)
Real bounce back in La Liga
Real Madrid bounced back from the midweek defeat by
Liverpool with
a 2-0 win at Espanyol in La Liga on Saturday night.
This was Juande Ramos' side 10th straight win in the
top-flight as late goals from Guti and Raul did the damage.
The win saw Real Madrid close the gap on leaders Barcelona
to four points. Barca take on Atletico Madrid tonight.
(LFC Official Website)
Thor Zakariassen
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