Reds continue marathon march to Madrid
The 2,600-mile round trip saw Liverpool’s millionaire footballers take a train from Runcorn to London and then the Eurostar to Paris where they were to spend the night.
Another train journey to Bordeaux awaits today before a short flight to the Spanish capital where they will arrive at lunchtime ahead of tomorrow’s Europa League semi-final first leg against Atletico Madrid.
Fulham, who are chasing their first European final in history after facing Hamburg in the other semi-final, had hoped to fly by private jet to Hamburg this morning but they admitted defeat and reverted to plan B.
The team boarded a luxurious coach to Folkestone yesterday morning, where they caught the Eurotunnel to Calais before driving to Hamburg on the same coach. It is anticipated the approximate 600-mile journey will take between 10 and 12 hours to complete.
Meanwhile Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun wants to win the Europa League to pay back injured striker Fernando Torres.
The Spain international is out for the rest of the Reds’ campaign, meaning for the second successive season he will not play against his former club having missed both of their Champions League encounters last year.
But Benayoun said although Torres was recuperating from a second knee operation in four months he was not forgotten ahead of the semi-final first leg.
“Fernando is the best striker in the world and with him it is much easier but unfortunately he is injured and cannot play,” said the Israeli, who scored the opening goal in Monday night’s 3-0 Barclays Premier League victory over West Ham.
“We need to give more to try to play for him because he won us a lot of games and played a big part in us getting to the semi-final.’’
The win over West Ham lifted spirits ahead of a lengthy trip to Madrid.
“It is always good to get the win and get the confidence back before a big game on Thursday,” said Benayoun, who stressed winning the Europa League would not paper over the cracks of a difficult season for the Merseysiders.
“We are in a good mood to go to Madrid and try to win.
“It has been a disappointing season so far and we need to finish with a trophy to give everyone a better feeling.
“Winning the Europa League would give us a better feeling but if we don’t finish top four we cannot say it is a success – but any trophy you win is great for any club.’’
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