Benitez: no repeat of Porto stalemate

LIVERPOOL’S manager and captain are in unison — what happened to the five-times European champions in Porto must never happen again.

A bemused Liverpool squad returned from Portugal with the most fortunate Champions League point they are ever likely to claim after a poor display in the Estadio do Dragao, when somehow and under constant pressure they managed a 1-1 draw in their opening Group A match.

Manager Rafael Benitez insisted afterwards that he will never tolerate such a display of incompetence again.

Skipper Steven Gerrard, as well as defensive lynchpin Jamie Carragher, were of a like mind afterwards.

Gerrard was scathing: “We just did not match up to our own standards.”

Benitez now has a fortnight to prepare for group leaders Marseille and their visit to Anfield. Any repeat then of Tuesday’s ineptitude will put qualification for the last 16 at risk.

Benitez said: “It was not up to scratch, especially in the first half, this was not the way Liverpool play.

“We were surprised by the way we played. We kept giving the ball away, we made mistakes that are not normal.

“It is an experience we will not repeat. We must learn from our mistakes to make sure that does not happen.

“Next time we know we must start the game properly, it is something we need to change in the future to make sure we start correctly.

Liverpool were a goal behind to an early Lucho Gonzalez penalty, and there could have been more, before Dirk Kuyt — a tireless battler throughout a game that saw Liverpool reduced to 10 men because of Jermaine Pennant’s senseless dismissal — headed them level.

And Gerrard, who looked as if he was suffering from his two-match England exertions last week and was playing despite his fractured toe, was equally baffled and angry about the outcome in Portugal.

He said: “A point away from home in the Champions League is a good result but we’re disappointed with the way we played. We didn’t start well and never really recovered.

“We had 10 men for the last 35 minutes so we had to grind out, and work hard for the result.

“We’ve built a successful team in Europe on starting well, making it difficult for the opposition, being good in possession and very good on the counter-attack. All these things did not go well this time.”

Defender Carragher was upbeat. He said: “There is no need to panic. We showed a lot of character to get ourselves back in the game and probably had the better of the chances in the second-half with 10 men. We would probably have taken that result before the game.

“They fizzed the ball around very quickly and (Ricardo) Quaresma caused us problems. Sometimes you’ve got to hold your hands up and say the other team has played well.”

And Carragher had sympathy for his friend Gerrard, who looked out of sorts for long spells.

Carragher said: “Stevie is the best captain there is. What he has done for this club already has secured him a place as one of the greatest ever players to wear a red shirt.

“I’m certain that in the next four or five years there’s so much more to come.”