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TUESDAY 24 |
Rafa: We must hold heads high
Rafa Benitez believes Liverpool can still enjoy a
successful season in 2009-10 - but warned his players not to
let their Champions League exit affect performances over the
coming weeks.
The boss admitted he was disappointed for the fans but urged
everyone to stay positive ahead of a crucial Merseyside
derby at the weekend.
Everton are one of the sides Liverpool could meet in the
Europa League - and memories of a glorious campaign in 2001
means Steven Gerrard and co will be going all out to reach
the final in Hamburg.
Benitez said: "You have to be disappointed. We did our job
here but we cannot change things. If you analyse the games,
two late goals against Lyon were a massive difference."
(LFC Official Website)
Gerrard: Let's go and win Europa League
Steven Gerrard reflected on Liverpool's European heartbreak
and declared: 'Now let's go and win the Europa League.'
A fourth minute strike from David Ngog gave the Reds a 1-0
victory over Debrecen in Budapest - but it wasn't enough to
save their Champions League status as Fiorentina beat Lyon
in Italy.
While Gerrard accepts it is a blow to have bowed out of the
tournament at the group stage, the captain is confident the
season can still end in success for Rafael Benitez's side.
"The disappointing thing was having to rely on other teams
going into tonight," said Gerrard.
"We've played fantastically well tonight and deserved the
three points, so it's disappointing that we won't progress
in the Champions League.
"You get what you deserve in this competition and the two
late goals we conceded against Lyon have been crucial. But
it's gone now - it's in the past and we've got to move on.
(LFC Official Website)
Reds miracle fails to materialise
The soul searching taking place at Liverpool this season
will intensify after the five-time kings of Europe crashed
out of the UEFA Champions League group stages despite
winning 1-0 at Debrecen.
Rafa Benitez's Reds travelled to Hungary with their boss
admitting his side needed a miracle to reach the last 16,
and the Spaniard's worst fears were confirmed as Fiorentina
defeated Lyon in Florence to qualify at the expense of his
team.
The three points for the Italians in Tuesday's other match
in Group E rendered events in Budapest completely irrelevant
as a first-half goal from French striker David Ngog will now
take a back seat to plans for
the Europa League.
(Sky Sports)
Berger: Benitez`s time up
Former Liverpool winger Patrik Berger insists "time is up"
for Rafael Benitez as Liverpool manager.
The Spaniard has come under pressure for much of this
season, with the team 13 points adrift of Premier League
leaders Chelsea and in severe danger of failing to progress
from Champions League Group E.
Benitez's transfer policy has also frequently raised
eyebrows, with Berger alluding to a lack of quality
throughout the squad.
And the former Czech Republic international told BBC Radio 5
live: "He did ever so well for Liverpool but in my opinion,
for him time is up and they should change their manager as
soon as possible.
"He has spent so much money over the years - he did have
success a few years ago but right now, for me, Liverpool do
not look a side who can win either the Premier League or
Champions League."
Injuries have hampered the Reds for much of the current
campaign, but Berger believes Benitez is lacking options
having allowed several big-name players to leave Anfield.
"In my opinion, Liverpool are not as strong as they were
last year or the year before," he continued.
"If they have all the top players fit, the starting XI is
very strong - but as soon as they lose two or three, they
don't really have the same quality as when they had Craig
Bellamy, Peter Crouch or Robbie Keane
on the bench.
"They really rely on the starting XI, if they get a few
injuries they are struggling. If they don't have a Steven
Gerrard or (Fernando) Torres up front they really look, to
me, an average side."
(Football 365)
Agger and Johnson start
Daniel Agger and Glen Johnson start for Liverpool in
Debrecen
this evening.
The pair suffered injury woes at the weekend but are in the
starting XI along with fit again Fabio Aurelio.
The Reds XI in full is: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger,
Insua, Mascherano, Lucas, Aurelio, Kuyt, Gerrard, Ngog.
Subs: Cavalieri, Spearing, Dossena, Aquilani, Benayoun,
Kyrgiakos, Skrtel.
(LFC Official Website)
Yossi used human placenta
Yossi Benayoun has confirmed the controversial treatment he
received in Serbia used human rather than equine placenta.
The Liverpool midfielder, along with team-mates Glen
Johnson, Albert Riera and Fabio Aurelio, visited Marijana
Kovacevic's clinic last week to receive a treatment that is
said to improve recovery times on muscle injuries
dramatically.
Benayoun was expected to be out of action for around a month
but after receiving the treatment, missed only around two
weeks of
Liverpool's season.
Kovacevic's practice, which has also been visited by Frank
Lampard and Robin van Persie, has been greeted with
scepticism from some quarters, while the Serbian health
authorities are investigating her licence to perform the
treatment.
Liverpool insist the placenta used was from a horse but
Benayoun has now contradicted their stance on the matter.
"There was no animal parts used and no injections," said
Benayoun.
"The doctor has treated a lot of players and it seems to be
held in very high regard.
"She explained everything to me beforehand and told me she
would use fluid from a placenta that had come from a woman.
"Nothing went into the muscle itself. It was a case of
massaging the liquid around the affected area."
(Sky Sports)
Carragher: Exit not disastrous
Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has claimed Champions
League elimination would not be a disaster as the club can
fall back on
the Europa League.
The Reds need to beat Debrecen on Tuesday night and hope
Group E rivals Lyon avoid defeat by Fiorentina if they are
to qualify for the last 16.
Carragher said: "We're still focused and believe we can go
through in the Champions League. If not, you move on.
"The club doesn't die because you go out of the Champions
League."
If Liverpool were to bow out of the Champions League then
the Europa League would, according to Carragher, be a
welcome second chance for the Anfield club in Europe.
And the defender maintained that winning the Europa League
would "put a different gloss" on a so far disappointing
season, which has yielded only one victory in the last 10
games.
"Myself and Stevie Gerrard won that competition before and
it's a great competition," stated Carragher.
"There are other things, like the FA Cup. There's a long way
to go. We haven't had a great start to the season but it can
certainly be turned around between now and the middle of
May."
(BBC Sport Online)
Babel ponders Liverpool exit
Ryan BabelLiverpool winger Ryan Babel plans talks with
Rafael Benitez - and is vowing to leave unless he plays more
games.
The Holland international is unhappy with the limited number
of matches he has started with the Anfield club since his
£11.5m move from
Ajax in 2007.
Babel told the Sun: "I don't play a lot so I can't be happy
and I can't cheer out loud. Sometimes I wonder how long I
can sustain it but I will fight."
(Teletext)
Mascherano: Liverpool hurt
by too many errors
Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano says their results
this season have been hampered by individual errors.
The 25-year-old feels the Reds must look to tighten up as a
collective unit if they are to embark on a winning run of
form.
"I think we deserved to win against (Manchester) City," said
the Argentina captain to liverpoolfc.tv.
"We played well, but we are conceding goals and that makes
it difficult if you want to win. It is a problem and we have
to improve.
"The team have performed well in the last two or three
games. We're improving little by little, but we are still
making mistakes and we have to cut them out if we are to
start winning.
"We are Liverpool, and we want to improve and show on the
pitch that we are a top side."
(tribalfootball.com) |
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MONDAY 23 |
Injury latest from Hungary
Rafa Benitez is confident both Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger
can play key roles for Liverpool in Debrecen despite injury
concerns over
the weekend.
Johnson was set to play against Man City on Saturday until
tests on the morning of the game revealed he was not 100 per
cent.
Agger did start but departed on a stretcher following a
clash of heads which left him needing five stitches.
Both are in the 18-man squad for Tuesday's Group E clash,
and Benitez told his pre-match press conference: "If we
decided to bring them here it's because we think they can
play. We will train (on Monday night) and then we'll see.
(LFC Official Website)
Benitez believes in miracles
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez recognises his side require
another 'miracle' in the UEFA Champions League.
The Reds are clinging to hope of progressing from Group E
and their destiny is not in their own hands as they must
beat Debrecen on Tuesday and hope Lyon do not lose away to
Fiorentina.
Benitez recognises his struggling team are facing a tough
task, but believes that Liverpool can produce a rabbit from
the hat.
The Spaniard has seen his side dramatically squeeze through
the group stages in 2005, going on to win the competition,
and in 2007/08.
Benitez said: "We have produced miracles before, we can do
the same again. It will be difficult, maybe another miracle.
But all we can do is
our job."
(Sky Sports)
Debrecen eye result
Reds must dread
Debrecen coach Andras Herczeg has challenged his players to
make history when they face Liverpool in the Champions
League on Tuesday.
The 53-year-old Hungarian, whose team have lost all four of
their Group E matches in their debut Champions League
season, said: "If we even draw against Liverpool, it will be
the greatest result in our club's history."
Liverpool must win in the Ferenc Puskas Stadium and pray
that Lyon win or draw away to Fiorentina, and only such a
combination of results would leave them with any chance of
qualifying for the last 16. A draw in Hungary would end
Liverpool's hopes of reaching the last 16.
Herczeg says: "This game is easy for Liverpool. They have to
win, nothing else will do.
"We intend making their task as difficult as possible, but
whether that is good enough we will only know after the
match."
en we started this journey, and we still retain that
confidence, but it has been a tough way to learn."
(TEAMtalk)
Babel ruled out for Liverpool
Dutch forward Ryan Babel is the latest player to be ruled
out of Liverpool’s Champions League Group E clash with
Debrecen in Hungary tomorrow after twisting his ankle in the
weekend draw with Manchester City.
Striker Fernando Torres will also play no part following his
groin problem but may be fit to face Everton on Sunday.
Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, who were both struggling
with injuries at the end of the 2-2 draw with City, were
both in Liverpool’s 18-man squad that travelled to Budapest.
Glen Johnson, who missed the City game with a calf problem,
was also in the party, while Albert Riera’s hamstring injury
meant he was left behind for further treatment. Daniel Agger
has recovered from a head injury sustained at the weekend.
Gerrard, who will almost certainly need another pain-killing
injection in his groin to allow him to play in the Ferenc
Puskas stadium, is confident that Liverpool's worrying
season can be saved.
He said: "The mood in the camp is really good, although we
know our position in the table isn't good enough.
"But we have faith in our ability. We know we can put things
right."
He added: "It's been a frustrating few weeks because as soon
as I was fit we had the international break. I've been
desperate to play and can't wait to really get going
properly again."
(The Irish Times)
Neither Liverpool FC or Man City
pressed claims for top four finish
Manchester City fans have created a banner that lends a line
from a song penned by one of their own, Noel Gallagher.
‘Some might say we will find a brighter day’ is the message
of hope emblazoned across the giant
cloth sheet.
It wasn’t on show at Anfield on Saturday. Maybe it should
have been.
On a dour, damp November afternoon there was little bright
about this particular day.
With both Rafael Benitez and Mark Hughes reflecting on the
2-2 draw as two points dropped, neither team pressed their
claims for a top four finish.
(David Randles - Liverpool Echo)
Hansen: I still fancy
Benitez's side to finish fourth
Alan Hansen believes Liverpool are still favourites to
finish inside the Premier League’s top four this season,
despite their woeful stat to the season. The former Anfield
stalwart acknowledges his old club are in a desperate battle
with Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham for that
coveted Champions League position however he believes Steven
Gerrard and Fernando Torres give Rafa Benitez’s side the
edge.
While praising the brilliant job Steve Bruce is doing at
Sunderland, Hansen claims Liverpool’s Champions League
adventure and title ambition is over for this season and
therefore fourth place must be their only aim.
(Sport.co.uk)
Horse power not enough as Liverpool FC’s
season stalls again in Anfield draw
It will clearly take more than cream made from horse
placenta and a special wave machine to rehabilitate
Liverpool’s ailing season.
Radical Belgrade specialist Mariana Kovacevic assumed
prominence in the last week after being charged with the
task of helping rush a quartet of Rafael Benitez’s
injury-ravaged squad back into action.
But such revolutionary procedures are not what the Anfield
manager needs from his team at present.
Basic aspects such as defending properly and turning
concerted pressure into goalscoring chances would provide
the required shoots of recovery and help rescue a campaign
that continues to head dangerously towards the precipice.
Another afternoon of frustration and familiar failings on
Saturday did little to suggest the Anfield faithful should
do anything but brace themselves for a major struggle for
their team to clinch Champions League qualification.
(Ian Doyle - Liverpool Daily Post)
Torres stays behind as Reds fly out
Fernando Torres will be absent from the Liverpool squad
which travels to Hungary today looking to keep their
Champions League dreams alive.
The Reds' squad will head for Debrecen without their Spanish
striker, who will remain on Merseyside for continued
treatment on his groin injury.
"We thought it'd be two or three weeks and he's only 12 or
13 days into that, so there's no point in him going," said
manager Rafael Benitez.
"The next few days will decide if he is fit for Everton, but
at this moment there are no guarantees."
Liverpool need to win in Hungary to keep their qualification
hopes alive, although a victory would be rendered
meaningless if Fiorentina take all three points off Lyon in
Italy.
(LFC Official Website) |
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SUNDAY 22 |
Benitez: It's out of our hands
Rafa Benitez says he has no concerns that two of his
Champions League rivals will contrive a result that will
eliminate Liverpool.
After a defeat and draw against Lyon in Group E, Liverpool's
fate is not in their own hands when they travel to Hungary
next week for the clash with Debrecen in the Ferenc Puskas
sitadium in Budapest.
The situation in the group is such that Fiorentina and
Lyon--who meet in Florence also on Tuesday--can engineer a
result that sees Liverpool eliminated.
He said: "I have no concerns that anybody will do anything
(to contrive a result), they are all professionals and they
will both try to win.
"It is a difficult situation, the future now is not in our
own hands. That is frustrating."
(TEAMtalk)
Reds move in on Madrid star
Liverpool are reported to be lining up a January loan move
for Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.
The former Manchester United striker is struggling to gain
first team action at the Bernabeu, losing his spot in the
side after the summer acquisitions of Kaka, Cristiano
Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, with the later two in direct
competition for places at the top of the pitch for Real.
Rafa Benitez could give the 33-year-old a new lease of life
at Anfield, and the Daily Mirror reports that a short-term
move is being prepared
for January.
(GiveMeFootball)
Gerrard targets immediate revival
Steven Gerrard is determined to put a frustrating period
behind him and help reignite Liverpool's season.
The Reds skipper has been struggling with a groin injury of
late but insists he is now ready to play his part in getting
the club back on track.
"It's been a frustrating few weeks," he said.
"It's been a strange month because as soon as I was fit we
had the international break. I've been dying to play and
can't wait to get
going again.
"The mood in the camp is really good. We know our position
in the table isn't good enough.
"But we have faith in our ability. We know we can put things
right."
(LFC Official Website)
Torres likely to miss derby date
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is resigned to being without
Fernando Torres for next week's Merseyside derby with
Everton.
Torres is still struggling with a groin problem which has
ruled him out of the last two games against Birmingham and
Manchester City.
It was hoped with rest the Spanish international might be
fit for the trip to Goodison Park, but Benitez expects his
star striker to be missing for another ten days.
It means Torres is set to sit out Tuesday's crucial UEFA
Champions League clash against Debrecen and then the meeting
with Everton
next weekend.
"Torres had a plan of fitness that would take three weeks
working with the physios," Benitez told the Sunday Mirror.
"You can see he is improving all the time, but I would say
that he is still maybe 10 days away from being right.
"The next few days will decide whether he will be fit for
Everton, but at this moment there are no guarantees."
(Sky Sports)
Hughes frustrated with Anfield draw
Mark Hughes insisted his Manchester City side felt a deep
frustration that they were not able to hang on to a winning
position at Liverpool.
The Premier League's latest pretenders to a top four
position had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Anfield, having
forced their way back into the match and taken the lead.
City boss Hughes felt his side deserved more and said: "We
restricted Liverpool to a very few opportunities but the
ones they did have, they scored from.
"But we restricted their influential players from having an
impact on the game. We were good on the break and carried a
real threat in the second period when Carlos Tevez came on."
(TEAMtalk)
Skrtel reflects on bittersweet day
Martin Skrtel admits the frustration of being held to a 2-2
draw by Manchester City at Anfield tempered the joy felt at
scoring his debut goal for Liverpool on Saturday.
The commanding centre-back put the Reds into a deserved 50th
minute lead against Mark Hughes' side when he edged in front
of Emmanuel Adebayor to prod Steven Gerrard's free-kick
beyond Shay Given.
It was Skrtel's first for Liverpool in 65 appearances, but
the final outcome of the contest ensured it was a
bittersweet afternoon for the Slovakian.
(LFC Official Website)
Benitez hopes Liverpool can
benefit from Henry fall-out
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez hopes to benefit from the
fallout of Thierry Henry's hand-ball controversy.
Champions League rivals Lyon coach Claude Puel has already
promised Benitez that his team will travel to Fiorentina
looking to win.
And Benitez said: “I don’t know whether what happened with
Henry will have an effect, but hopefully it can be good for
us. Maybe Lyon will want to prove to the rest of the world
that the French are good professionals who want to win every
single game.
“I hope it works out that way. I hope something positive can
come out of what Henry did.
“We cannot influence the other game in the group so we have
to do our job, beat Debrecen and see what happens.
“If Fiorentina draw it will be a waste of time, but if Lyon
beat them then we have to be ready.
“Lyon have a good group of professionals and a good manager.
It is tough when you play away from home in the Champions
League, but they will want to prove something.
(tribalfootball.com)
Thor Zakariassen
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