Saturday, November 21, 2009 Previous editions
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
RAFAEL BENITEZ last night defended his reign as Liverpool manager with the Anfield club facing European oblivion.
If Liverpool lose their Champions League clash with Group E leaders Lyon in the Stade de Gerland tonight, they will be all but out of this season’s competition and Benitez knows the pressure on him will reach even greater heights.
A seventh defeat in eight games would be something Liverpool have not experienced since Bill Shankly’s appointment as manager, 50 years ago on December 1.
Lyon, with three victories already, need one point to qualify for the last 16, while Liverpool have never lost three successive European Cup games in their history.
But with a frightening injury crisis, there is a very real prospect of a side missing Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Martin Skrtel, Fabio Aurelio and Albert Riera suffering that humiliation.
A Champions League exit would cost Liverpool upwards of £15 million (€16.7m) and leave their season facing ruin. That would inevitably lead to more calls for Benitez’s head but the Spaniard cut a defiant figure, saying: "I am very pleased to be here and I wish to be here for a long time."
Benitez is banking heavily on Fernando Torres, who is struggling with a hernia problem, getting through a large part of the match.
Gerrard did not even travel to France, and Benitez insists that a decision on whether his skipper needs a groin operation will not be taken until Liverpool return to Merseyside.
He said: "We do not want either player (Torres or Gerrard) to have an operation, we will hope that they continue to improve. It is too early to say just yet."
Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani is on the verge of starting his first game while a late decision will be taken on Daniel Agger’s back problem.
Benitez said: "At one stage 14 players were injured or had a virus, no club could cope with that.
"It is not easy with this injury crisis. If any of the top sides in England lost four or five of their very best players and then four or five from their bench, they would struggle.
"But we will do our best and we do have the experience of such situations.
"Two years ago we also needed to win our final three group matches, and we succeeded. We can do that again.’’
But it is his own position that Benitez knows will come under further tough scrutiny if his walking wounded do lose to Lyon for the second time in a matter of weeks.
He said: "The players are working very hard, they are positive and determined. They know this result is important for the club, for everyone.
"But our fans have not turned. They are clever people, they know the position the club was in when I arrived and they know what position it is in now, they know this is the only way.
"When we have our big players available, everything will change.’’
However despite Liverpool’s poor form and injury crisis, Lyon coach Claude Puel, citing the recent 2-0 win over Manchester United, maintained yesterday that the Reds "always have the potential to bounce back."
Puel said: "Liverpool may have their problems, but after we beat them they turned in a great performance against Manchester United. They were tough, played at a great pace and fully deserved the win. We saw then that they have great potential to bounce back.’’
Benitez maintains that he still has the backing of his players: "They are determined, they want to play and they want to win. Losing would be bad for us, bad for the club, but we will keep going. We are not thinking that way, we are only thinking of winning.’’
Dutch forward Dirk Kuyt summed up the attitude of the senior players, saying: "Situations like this bring people closer together, the whole team.
"We showed how we could react to bad situations when we beat Manchester United recently, we can produce results like that again.
"We have recovered from a bad start in a Champions League group before, and we can do it again. We have to believe that we can do it.’’
Kuyt finished his own part of Liverpool’s media conference before Benitez took the stage. As he got up to return to training, Kuyt turned to his boss and whispered, ‘good luck’.
Benitez will certainly need that tonight.
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