Unsung heroes come good

RAFAEL BENITEZ saw the spirit of Liverpool rekindled in his native Spain as two of the most maligned players of the previous regime produced outstanding performances to carry the Reds to the brink of qualification for the next stage of the Champions League.

Liverpool, stripped of the quality of Steven Gerrard, Djibril Cisse and at the last moment Xabi Alonso, had to turn to the likes of Igor Biscan and Djimi Traore to fill the gaps in an already threadbare squad.

Defeat at Deportivo La Coruna’s intimidating Estadio Riazor would have left Liverpool contemplating another costly Champions League exit, with Benitez needing every penny as he struggles to rebuild the Anfield empire.

So it was ironic that two of Gerard Houllier’s least effective signings were most influential in the 1-0 win over last season’s semi-finalists.

Liverpool had not won a European Cup game in Spain for 20 years until last night and a grateful Benitez paid tribute to the supporting cast.

“We lost Alonso and Cisse, but Igor came in and played very well. And that is important for him and the rest of the squad,” said the Anfield boss.

“If you have players who can come in and perform like that, it means you will probably be able to do well in all competitions. When you have good players like Hamann, Alonso and Gerrard who are going to play most matches, you know others in the squad cannot play as many games.

Biscan’s name was even chanted by Liverpool fans who must have been amazed by what they were seeing from the Croatian who had become almost a joke figure.

His surging run from midfield created the only goal, with Jorge Andrade turning in John Arne Riise’s cross, and Biscan grew in stature as the game progressed.

And the former Valencia boss, who despite his calm words afterwards found it hard to suppress his delight at winning in Spain, added: “It is the same for Djimi Traore. He has also trained well and impressed me and, just like Biscan, if you are not playing you must work hard and be ready when you are needed.

“I found the same in Valencia, if you have many players who do not play often you must train with them. If you do not do the same things with them as you do with the first team, when you want them in the side it is difficult.

“When you have say, 10 players who do not play many matches, it is so important to work and train with them every day.

“When there was talk of Djimi leaving in the summer. I told him he would play, I could not say how much but for sure he would get matches”

Before last night, the last time Liverpool won in Spain they went on to win the competition. But Benitez is only thinking about the next match, away to Monaco, who lost top spot in group A after losing 1-0 in Athens to Olympiakos.

“Now we are on the same points at the top of the group as Olympiakos and we know that one more win will mean we are 90% certain of qualifying.

“We started the game against Depor very well with some good opportunities. And we did not try to stay back but always wanted to come forward and create chances.

“At the end of the game they created a lot of pressure but we controlled the game. I know Deportivo, they are a fantastic team when they are allowed to keep the ball. But they are not playing too well at the moment.

“We tried to pressure them all the time because when they lost the ball the supporters were not happy with them. That was important for our confidence and they got nervous.

“In the second half I could not have asked for more because we defended well right the way through,” said Benitez.