Steven Gerrard has urged Liverpool to “go for the jugular” as they aim to keep their Champions League dream alive this evening.
Rafael Benitez’s side entertain Besiktas knowing anything other than victory will almost certainly mean failure to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition for the first time under the Spaniard.
Liverpool were surprisingly beaten 2-1 in Istanbul by the Turkish side a fortnight ago, a result which means they effectively need to win their remaining three Group A games to progress. And Gerrard believes the Anfield outfit, who could have Fernando Torres available this evening, have no option but to attack from the off and ensure another famous European night at the stadium.
“I said after the game in Istanbul that we face three massive games, cup finals in effect, in our remaining Champions League group games and I have not changed my mind since then,” said Gerrard.
“We have to make a fast start and rock Besiktas early on. I don’t think we have anything to fear from them coming over here.
“We need to go for the jugular from the first whistle. We know we need a night like Juventus, Chelsea and Olympiakos, which was probably the last time we were in a similar position to now. Our backs were against the wall, and unfortunately that’s where we are again.
“But we know we can do it. On these European nights, everyone has to work together. We have to give the fans something to believe and get them going from the first whistle. Besiktas will sit back and break the game up, so we might need to be patient and then make sure our quality tells. If we get our performance right, then there are very few teams, if any, can live with us. We have got to get it right tonight.”
Liverpool were guilty of some profligate finishing against Besiktas two weeks ago before a late Gerrard goal gave hope of an equaliser after the Turks had led 2-0. And the skipper reckons the performance that night was an indicator Benitez’s side are capable of a morale-boosting triumph this evening.
“Despite the fact they got a good result in their own stadium, even they would admit we had more than enough chances to win the game over there,” added Gerrard.
“We believe in ourselves and our ability to go and get the job done. It would be great to send a message to the rest of the teams in our group that we are back, but we have to get the result on Tuesday.
“In the past we have saved some of our best games for this competition, but this season we have just not got going.
“We battled for a point in Porto without playing well and got what we deserved against Marseille. We didn’t take enough of our chances in Turkey and we won’t make the same mistake again here. We cannot afford to now we have left ourselves with no margin for error.”
Liverpool could have Torres in the squad tonight after the Span-iard made a quicker than expected recovery from his adductor problem.
The striker was in training yesterday and Benitez is considering taking a risk on the player given his team’s goal-scoring woes that were again illustrated against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
Benitez said: “We will talk with the doctor, the physios and the player, but he is much better than last time. We must be really positive but we also have to be careful.
“He wanted to play last time and it was a very important game, so perhaps he wasn’t really fit, but players always want to play and think they are fit in those situations. I think we have enough power up front without Torres, but this is also a game when we might have to take a risk.”
Harry Kewell is likely to be restricted to bench duty again following impressive substitute appearances against Cardiff City and Blackburn in the last week. However, both Xabi Alonso and Daniel Agger will remain sidelined for the next three weeks as they recover from their metatarsal injuries.
Rafael Benitez’s side entertain Besiktas knowing anything other than victory will almost certainly mean failure to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition for the first time under the Spaniard.
Liverpool were surprisingly beaten 2-1 in Istanbul by the Turkish side a fortnight ago, a result which means they effectively need to win their remaining three Group A games to progress. And Gerrard believes the Anfield outfit, who could have Fernando Torres available this evening, have no option but to attack from the off and ensure another famous European night at the stadium.
“I said after the game in Istanbul that we face three massive games, cup finals in effect, in our remaining Champions League group games and I have not changed my mind since then,” said Gerrard.
“We have to make a fast start and rock Besiktas early on. I don’t think we have anything to fear from them coming over here.
“We need to go for the jugular from the first whistle. We know we need a night like Juventus, Chelsea and Olympiakos, which was probably the last time we were in a similar position to now. Our backs were against the wall, and unfortunately that’s where we are again.
“But we know we can do it. On these European nights, everyone has to work together. We have to give the fans something to believe and get them going from the first whistle. Besiktas will sit back and break the game up, so we might need to be patient and then make sure our quality tells. If we get our performance right, then there are very few teams, if any, can live with us. We have got to get it right tonight.”
Liverpool were guilty of some profligate finishing against Besiktas two weeks ago before a late Gerrard goal gave hope of an equaliser after the Turks had led 2-0. And the skipper reckons the performance that night was an indicator Benitez’s side are capable of a morale-boosting triumph this evening.
“Despite the fact they got a good result in their own stadium, even they would admit we had more than enough chances to win the game over there,” added Gerrard.
“We believe in ourselves and our ability to go and get the job done. It would be great to send a message to the rest of the teams in our group that we are back, but we have to get the result on Tuesday.
“In the past we have saved some of our best games for this competition, but this season we have just not got going.
“We battled for a point in Porto without playing well and got what we deserved against Marseille. We didn’t take enough of our chances in Turkey and we won’t make the same mistake again here. We cannot afford to now we have left ourselves with no margin for error.”
Liverpool could have Torres in the squad tonight after the Span-iard made a quicker than expected recovery from his adductor problem.
The striker was in training yesterday and Benitez is considering taking a risk on the player given his team’s goal-scoring woes that were again illustrated against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
Benitez said: “We will talk with the doctor, the physios and the player, but he is much better than last time. We must be really positive but we also have to be careful.
“He wanted to play last time and it was a very important game, so perhaps he wasn’t really fit, but players always want to play and think they are fit in those situations. I think we have enough power up front without Torres, but this is also a game when we might have to take a risk.”
Harry Kewell is likely to be restricted to bench duty again following impressive substitute appearances against Cardiff City and Blackburn in the last week. However, both Xabi Alonso and Daniel Agger will remain sidelined for the next three weeks as they recover from their metatarsal injuries.
No comments:
Post a Comment