Crouch confident of shooting Reds to World glory

PETER CROUCH believes there is no reason Liverpool’s winning run will come to a halt when they square up to Sao Paulo in the final of the Club World Championship.

The England striker was in great form in the 3-0 semi-final win over Deportivo Saprissa, scoring twice and proving a constant menace in the air and on the ground.

It was Liverpool's ninth win in 11 matches and the Anfield outfit have not lost since a 2-1 reverse at Crystal Palace dumped them out of the Carling Cup on October 25.

And Crouch believes the confidence the run has instilled has given the Reds the crucial edge in games, something they will need against the South American champions.

He said: "Winning the Super Cup at the start of the season was a real boost and we've got that winning mentality at the moment.

"We're full of confidence and believe we're not going to concede and that we're going to score. We believe we're going to win every game. It has proved to be the case in the Premiership, in Europe and now in this tournament too.

"Brazilians are technical players so we're going to have to get in among them from the start, hopefully get an early goal and I'm sure we can go on and win it.

"We've not come all this way to finish second best."

Crouch was under pressure from everyone outside Anfield owing to a goal drought that lasted more than 24 hours of playing time until he hit a brace against Wigan on December 3.

But with the backing of boss Rafael Benitez who has decided to stay for the final despite the death of his father and the rest of the squad, the former Southampton man is starting to justify his £7million price tag.

"It was a big monkey off my back to get the goals against Wigan," he admitted. "But I'd like to think I contribute in other ways too.

"You do need to be scoring goals if you're going to play for a club like Liverpool and hopefully I can carry on doing that.

"I've got a lot to thank the lads for. They've been great with me since I arrived and I want to do well for them."

"I always speak well of him," said a proud Benitez. "He's a player who can do different things from the other players, he creates chances and he can also score goals.

"I am very happy with him, he's a nice boy, a key player for us and a good professional."

Crouch will retain his place against Sao Paulo and Benitez expects the rest of his side to up their game from the romp with Saprissa.

"We'll need to play much better in the final," Benitez added. "Sao Paulo are a good team, with experience and some good players, and we will need to be at our best to win."