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THURSDAY 12 |
Degen injured as Reserves draw
Philipp Degen limped off after scoring as Liverpool Reserves
drew 2-2 with Manchester United on Thursday night.
The Swiss international netted just four minutes into his
comeback but didn't last the half.
Gary Ablett's side then had to come from behind through
Daniel Pacheco to earn a point from an entertaining game at
the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington.
Liverpool can take heart from the fact Ole Gunnar Solksejar
named a strong XI including Tomasz Kuszczak and Daniel
Welbeck, who started the Carling Cup final. There was
another familiar face at full-back in Fabio Da Silva - twin
brother of the impressive Rafael.
Liverpool: Bouzanis, Mendy (Huth 82), Irwin, San Jose,
Kelly, Plessis, Degen (Crowther 24), Palsson, Flora
(Spearing 44), Pacheco, Weijl.
Subs not used: Hansen, Dalla Valle.
(LFC Official Website)
Skrtel set for win-or-bust clash
Martin Skrtel confesses that Liverpool's Premier League
title aspirations will be in ruins if arch rivals Manchester
United are not defeated on Saturday.
The Reds make the short trip to Old Trafford with hopes of a
first league title in 19 years hanging by a thread as
defending champions United have opened a seven-point lead at
the top of the table.
"If we can win at Old Trafford we would be able to
complicate United's title bid," Skrtel - who has battled
back from a serious knee injury suffered earlier in the
season to regain a place as a first-team regular under Rafa
Benitez - told Pravda.
"Any result other than a win would mean a definite end to
our title hopes."
(Sky Sports)
Mascherano: I've learned my lesson
Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano has vowed to keep
calm when he plays at Old Trafford for the first time since
his red card last season.
Just less than 12 months ago, the Argentina captain was sent
off a minute before half-time for a second bookable offence
when referee Steve Bennett cautioned him for dissent.
The 24-year-old exploded in rage at what he felt was an
injustice and had to be escorted from the field by
team-mates.
He was subsequently charged with improper conduct by the
Football Association and received a two-match suspension in
addition to his statutory one-game ban.
"It was really difficult for me but I am sure that situation
will not happen again," said the Argentinian, who believes
victory at Old Trafford would give Liverpool a chance of
pipping United to the Premier League title.
"We are in the title race and we need to think about winning
there and then see what happens."
(TEAMtalk)
Benitez holds Leto hope
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez hopes Argentine winger
Sebastian Leto will qualify for a work permit to play in
England next season.
The Reds were forced to loan out Leto for the season after
the 21-year-old failed tp secure a permit from the
Department of Work and Pensions after his Italian passport,
which allowed him to play for the club last season, was
revoked.
Leto has impressed during his time with Greek outfit
Olympiakos, although his tenure has been littered with
disciplinary problems that include being dropped after
reportedly kicking balls at the club's coaching staff in
training.
Benitez claims Leto's pedigree means he should qualify for a
permit to play in England and that the rules should be
changed to allow someone of his quality to feature in the
Premier League.
"Leto is an asset for Liverpool and I hope that he will get
the work permit in order to have him with us next season,"
Benitez told SportDay.
"I am disappointed at what happened last summer. It was a
surprise for us that he didn't manage to secure a work
permit."
(Sky Sports)
Babel seeks selfish streak
Ryan Babel admits he needs to be 'more greedy' if he is to
establish himself as a striker at Liverpool.
The Dutch youngster has generally been used in a wide role
by Reds boss Rafa Benitez since joining the club from Ajax
in the summer of 2007.
He has made occasional appearances up front and is keen to
be given the opportunity to make a name for himself in front
of goal.
Babel has scored just 13 times in 83 games for Liverpool and
accepts he must start to display a selfish streak in front
of goal if he is to fulfil his aim of being a striker.
"To be more dangerous in front of goal," Babel told his
official website fobazo.com when asked what he needs to
improve upon.
"Right now, there are too many times when I can go for goal
myself that I pass the ball to another to try to give an
assist.
"At the end, if I watch the game back I think, 'hey, I could
shoot or I could go for myself'.
"I still believe I can be a striker, but if you want to be a
striker you have to think more about yourself and that's why
you are a striker.
"So I think that's a part I have to learn more, to be more
greedy. It's a process and I'm confident that it will come."
(Sky Sports)
Agger sets return date
Liverpool defender Daniel Agger is targeting a possible
return to action by the end of March.
The 24-year-old has had an injury-ravaged season and has
played just twice in 2009 with a back injury the latest
problem to hold him back.
The Denmark international's last outing came in the Reds'
3-2 success at Portsmouth at the start of February but the
centre-back is upbeat with a return to training imminent.
Agger is eyeing Denmark's World Cup qualifying games against
Malta on the 28th March and then Albania four days later as
possible dates for a comeback.
"Hopefully I'll be back soon. I'll start training any day
now," he told Sporten.dk.
"As it seems, and what I hope, is to be fit for the
international games, which seems reasonable as I feel a lot
better for the last couple of games.
"I was at a stage where I didn't know what we were going to
do and that concerned me.
"Of course my mind wandered off, thinking that I might be
out for a long time. But you have to take things as they
come, and the last couple of days have really been good.
"I've been undergoing good treatment and tried new
exercises."
(Setanta Sports)
Torres: Tactics of Benitez were top class
Fernando Torres last night hailed Liverpool’s famous rout of
Real Madrid as a tactical triumph for manager Rafael
Benitez.
And the Liverpool striker believes that the Spanish coach
can repeat his Champions League success when he goes head to
head against Alex Ferguson in the Premier League at Old
Trafford on Saturday.
Ferguson is the most decorated coach in domestic football
history, but Benitez has few peers in European football in
recent years.
Torres explained that the Spanish coach sent out his team
supremely prepared.
“I think we prepared the game better than them,” he
declared.
“The boss was brilliant in explaining how to play against
them."
(Liverpool Echo)
Pennant puts future talks on hold
Jermaine Pennant is putting talks on his future on hold
until the end of the season.
Pennant is on loan at Portsmouth from Liverpool and with his
contract at Anfield due to expire in the summer, his future
is up in the air.
The winger had hinted that he would be prepared to remain at
Fratton Park, but the pressing priority is to keep the club
in The Premier League.
”It's too early to think about staying beyond the summer at
the moment,” Pennant told the Portsmouth News.
“I have got more important things to think about than me
staying or going.
”I have got a job to do here to try to keep Portsmouth in
The Premier League.
”If I do that, then I can think about my future afterwards.”
(Setanta Sports)
Vidic: We'll improve for Liverpool
Nemanja Vidic is convinced Manchester United will not be so
casual against Liverpool on Saturday as they were against
Inter Milan last night when they look to take a decisive
stride towards the Premier League title.
It was far from a vintage European night from United as they
rode their luck at times in the second leg of their
Champions League last-16 clash with Jose Mourinho's Serie A
leaders at Old Trafford.
"We need to forget Inter now," demanded Vidic.
"Liverpool is the next big game we must play, and they are
in good form, full of confidence. They had a great win
against Madrid (4-0 on Tuesday).
"But we're at home in front of our crowd, and I think, I
hope we are going to be much better than we were against
Inter."
(Manchester Evening News)
Carrick has Liverpool in his sights
Michael Carrick has told Setanta Sports News that Manchester
United are focused on knocking Liverpool out of the Premier
League title race.
The Red Devils face Liverpool at Old Trafford on Saturday
lunchtime, just three days after progressing to the quarter
finals of the Champions League.
Carrick has revealed that after seeing off Inter, the focus
of the players shifted to the meeting with Liverpool.
”If we manage to win we will be in a good position and
hopefully that is the case.”
(Setanta Sports)
Spearing: I'll never forget Kop song
Jay Spearing admits he will never forget the moment the Kop
sang his name for the first time.
The 20-year-old midfielder replaced Steven Gerrard after 73
minutes of Liverpool's 4-0 victory over Real Madrid.
The Kop was so impressed with his all-action cameo they
began to sing his name.
"To play at Anfield at any time is extra special for me, but
to come on against probably the biggest club in the world
makes it even better," Spearing told Liverpoolfc.tv.
"It was hard to think straight when the Kop started singing
my name. It is something I will never forget.
"Quite a few of the lads came up to me afterwards to say
'congratulations' - they were made up about the song. But
I've got to look forward now, keep working hard and
hopefully I'll get another chance."
(LFC Official Website) |
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WEDNESDAY 11 |
Aurelio: Rafa revelling in rout
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez felt he needed to prove
himself against Real Madrid, according to Reds defender
Fabio Aurelio.
Benitez spent 15 years as a player and coach at the Bernabeu
before leaving to learn his managerial craft, famously
winning the Primera Liga crown twice with Valencia.
And on Tuesday night he masterminded one of Liverpool's
greatest European achievements with a 5-0 aggregate victory
over Real Madrid to send them out of the Champions League,
with the Anfield club reaching the quarter-finals for the
fourth time in five years.
Brazilian full-back Aurelio, who played under Benitez at
Valencia, said: "It was the performance that Rafa was
looking for before the game but it was even better maybe
than any of us expected.
"The victory meant a lot to Rafa, too. He comes from Madrid,
he worked and played for Real.
"So it was important for him to show that he has grown as a
manager, he is as pleased about the result as all of us.
"It was a perfect result and a perfect performance. Perfect,
just perfect.
"It was probably our best performance of the season, we
passed the ball well, defended well and attacked well."
(TEAMtalk)
Benitez: Torres talked me round
Rafael Benitez has revealed that Fernando Torres needed a
pain-killing injection and all his powers of persuasion to
have the chance to destroy Real Madrid.
Torres took special delight in his goal-scoring performance
as Liverpool sent Real crashing out of the Champions League
with a 5-0 aggregate win on Tuesday.
Torres had barely trained in the fortnight since he picked
up the injury in the 1-0 first-leg victory in the Bernabeu.
Manager Benitez said: "Fernando had only light training for
three days but he desperately wanted to play against his
former club.
"He caused so many problems for their defenders, they could
not handle him or his passion. But there was great
commitment from all of my players.
"Fernando did his best to convince me to let him play. We
talked a lot about it beforehand and he kept telling me he
was 100 per cent.
"But he still needed an injection in the ankle and it was
heavily strapped up. Playing against Real, particularly with
his past at Atletico Madrid, was so important for him. The
strapping was very strong, but we felt it was right to take
the gamble."
(PA Sport)
Bayern desperate to avoid Reds
Bayern Munich chief Uli Hoeness is hoping his
record-breaking side avoid Liverpool in the Champions League
quarter-finals.
Hoeness says the rest of Europe will have taken note of his
side's record 12-1 aggregate win over Sporting Lisbon on
Tuesday, but the general manager is desperate to keep away
from the Reds.
"Our results have certainly earned us a lot of respect,"
said Hoeness. "The other teams will certainly see videos of
our games and ask themselves 'hold on a minute, what's going
on there?"'
Hoeness feels many clubs would be happy to avoid Bayern in
the quarter-final draw, but he does not mind who his team
gets, claiming "nobody fears anybody in the Champions
League".
However, he did admit he would prefer to avoid Liverpool
after they hammered Real Madrid 4-0.
"I certainly don't want to play against Liverpool," he said.
"I think they are very, very strong at the moment.
"Liverpool have no chance of winning their league anymore
and that enables them to concentrate on the Champions
League.
"The important thing would be to play the first leg away.
That would be a huge advantage."
(TEAMtalk)
Reds fear no one, insists Kuyt
Dirk Kuyt believes that Liverpool can beat anyone in Europe
in the wake of last night's 4-0 defeat of Real Madrid.
The result, which was Real's worst in the competition for
over 20 years, was a statement of intent and Kuyt sees no
reason why the Reds cannot win the Champions League.
"We have won the Champions League before - hopefully we can
do it again," he told Liverpoolfc.tv
(Shanklygates)
It's question time for Rafa
Rafa Benitez does not need a pat on the back for Liverpool’s
Champions League mauling of Madrid, but a good, hard shake.
For if ever a result prompted further questions it was The
Reds’ 4-0 demolition of Europe’s footballing aristocrats.
The Liverpool manager is undoubtedly a pragmatic man and not
one to be swept up in jubilant celebrations when the
situation calls for cold, hard calculation.
So while the masses packed into Anfield to witness the
destruction of Madrid took the party from the Kop and into
the pubs around Liverpool, the Spaniard was hopefully
contemplating an intriguing puzzle.
What do Stoke, West Ham, Fulham and Hull have that the
mighty Real Madrid lack?
(Toby Davis - Setanta Sports)
Real Madrid - your boys took a hell
of a beating from Liverpool FC
Alfredo di Stefano, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, David
Beckham – can you hear me?
Your boys took one hell of a beating.
One of the most glittering of European reputations was laid
to waste at an energised Anfield.
Real Madrid weren’t just ejected from the Champions League,
they were grabbed by the collar and the belt and launched
ignominiously through the Anfield exit door, with Fernando
Torres’ size nines up their rear end.
Liverpool were excellent, Real Madrid rubbish – prompting
the second most popular question of the night, after ‘how
bad were they?’
Liverpool 4 Real Madrid 0 is now history – a stirring slice
of Anfield folklore, but history nonetheless.
Now it’s time to start adding to the domestic history books
– starting at Old Trafford on Saturday lunch-time.
(David Prentice - Liverpool Echo)
Rampant Reds made all
Liverpool FC fans proud!
Oh what a night! And today Real Madrid can count themselves
lucky it was not six or seven they conceded to a
magnificent, rampant Liverpol side.
I’ve been crying out all season for us to get at sides from
the start and that’s just what we did last night. We could
have been four up inside 20 minutes as the lads closed down,
harassed and frankly bullied Real Madrid.
(Tommy Smith - Liverpool Echo)
Ramos: Liverpool
just too good
Real Madrid coach Juande Ramos was deflated by last night’s
crushing Anfield defeat.
The former Spurs boss admitted that the ‘best team won’
following a 4-0 hammering.
Ramos said: “We are very disappointed and it is sad that we
are out and we are obviously not happy with the result.
“We conceded two early goals, and I had my doubts about
both. There looked to be a foul for the first and the
penalty was not clear at all.
“But Liverpool were excellent and deserved to go through.
They were too good on the night and there is no point in
denying that, they deserved it."
(Liverpool Echo)
Raul says sorry for 'painful' defeat
Real Madrid captain Raul apologised to his side's fans
following Tuesday night's Champions League exit at the hands
of Liverpool, describing
the 4-0 Anfield mauling as his "most painful" defeat in the
competition.
(ITV-Football)
Torres: Why I am so proud
Fernando Torres spoke of his pride after Liverpool
steamrollered Real Madrid - and labelled the 4-0 victory a
'big night for English football'.
El Nino opened the scoring as nine-times champions Real
suffered their record European defeat in front of a raucous
Anfield.
In an exclusive interview with Liverpoolfc.tv after the
game, the striker said: "I am very proud. I am proud at the
performance of the team and the performance of the fans. We
knew the atmosphere would be amazing but it was even better
than we thought.
"This was a big night for Liverpool and for English football
as well.
"We showed Real Madrid that this is Anfield and that
Liverpool can win against any team here."
(LFC Official Website)
Carra hails great night
Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has hailed a great night
after Real Madrid left Anfield with only a 4-0 thumping for
their efforts.
Carragher admits Liverpool's bid to win the UEFA Champions
League is still in its infancy but regaining the crown they
last held in 2005 is clearly in his thinking.
"It's been a great night," he told Sky Sports News.
"Obviously it's still early doors in the Champions League
and we want to go on and do as well as we can and that means
winning it.
"But it's obviously a great night to look back on, beating
Real Madrid, the most famous name in European football, 5-0
on aggregate."
(Sky Sports)
Masch suspended
Javier Mascherano faces a one game ban.
The midfielder will miss the first leg of Liverpool's
Champions League quarter final after picking up his third
booking in the competition against Real Madrid last night.
Mascherano was booked, presumably for dissent, after Xabi
Alonso gave away the foul.
(LFC Online) |
|
TUESDAY 10 |
Rafa reflects on glorious victory
Rafa Benitez put Liverpool's demolition of Real Madrid down
to a "fantastic all-round team performance" after they
coasted into the Champions League last eight via a
breathtaking 5-0 aggregate victory.
Speaking to reporters after the game, the Reds boss admitted
the special Anfield atmosphere helped his team to such an
emphatic victory but insisted his players and staff deserved
credit for the historic result.
"We did really well and kept on playing right up until the
end," said Benitez. "I am pleased for everyone - for the
players, the fans and the club as a whole."
(LFC Official Website)
Gerrard hails 'awesome' display
Steven Gerrard described Liverpool’s 4-0 demolition of Real
Madrid as ‘awesome’ after The Reds ran riot at Anfield.
"We got the job done in the first 30 minutes tonight when I
thought we were awesome," said Gerrard.
"The second half was about seeing it out and fortunately we
were able to score a couple more goals."
(Setanta Sports)
Reina delighted
with Madrid demolition
Liverpool keeper Jose Reina has expressed his huge
satisfaction following the demolition of Real Madrid.
Reina told reporters after the game at Anfield: “We are very
pleased with the result, happy with the atmosphere and
delighted to be qualified for the quarter finals because
that’s what we wanted.
“What happened is not because of Madrid but because of us.”
(Setanta Sports)
Rampant Reds
thrash sorry Madrid
Liverpool stormed into the quarter finals of the Champions
League with a barnstorming demolition of Real Madrid at
Anfield.
The Reds crushed their Spanish opponents 4-0 on the night,
winning 5-0 on aggregate, in a one-sided display of superb
attacking football.
Inspirational skipper Steven Gerrard bagged a brace with a
goal in each half after the returning Fernando Torres had
given Liverpool the lead
early on.
And with the game won and Liverpool’s passage to the next
round already assured, substitute Andrea Dossena rounded off
proceedings, hammering the final nail in the Madrid coffin.
Juande Ramos' side were outclassed, out-muscled and
out-gunned by a Liverpool outfit intent on punishing their
illustrious visitors.
It was one-way traffic from the first whistle and Rafa
Benitez’s troops did not lift their foot off the pedal until
they were comfortably ahead and the tie was won.
(Setanta Sports)
Torres and Arbeloa return at Anfield
Fernando Torres and Alvaro Arbeloa return to Liverpool's
starting XI for tonight's Champions League last 16 clash
with Real Madrid.
The duo's return is a major boost for Rafa Benitez, who also
calls on Ryan Babel in the absence of the suspended Albert
Riera.
The line-up in full is: Reina, Arbeloa, Aurelio, Carragher,
Skrtel, Babel, Kuyt, Alonso, Mascherano, Gerrard, Torres.
Subs: Cavalieri, Hyypia, Dossena, Ngog, Lucas, Spearing,
Kelly.
(LFC Official Website)
Reds duo set for landmark night
Steven Gerrard will make his 100th European appearance for
Liverpool if, as expected, the skipper is selected for
tonight's Champions League showdown with Real Madrid.
The inspirational number eight will join teammate Jamie
Carragher (113) as only the second player in the club's
history to break past the century barrier for European games
played.
And it isn't just the club captain who will be hoping to
mark a landmark evening with a win.
Midfield maestro Xabi Alonso will also celebrate 200 games
in a red shirt if he features against the champions of his
homeland.
(LFC Official Website)
Thor Zakariassen
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