Sunday, July 15, 2007

Crewe 0 - 3 LiverpooL


Rafael Benitez was full of praise for new boy Andriy Voronin after the striker's impressive debut in the 3-0 friendly win at Crewe.

Voronin carved out game's opening goal for youngster Lee Peltier (21) during an impressive 45 minutes on the field.

Peter Crouch (24) added a second three minutes later when he turned in John Arne Riise's cross.

And Youth Cup hero Ray Putterill added the Reds' third after 58 minutes with a shot from the edge of the box.

"We know that Voronin is going to be another option for us," Benitez told the club's website. "He has good game intelligence, he plays well between the lines and he has a lot of quality.

"He played well today in what was a good game for us. We used 22 players and I saw a lot of good things on the field.

"Two of the young lads scored as well which is good for them. They need to be involved in these kind of games to show what they can do."

Heinze Set To Buy-out United Contract To Clinch Liverpool Move


Gabriel Heinze is locked in a £6.8 million tug-of-war with Manchester United because they refuse to sell him to their bitter rivals Liverpool.

Anfield boss Rafa Benitez has been given the green light by the club's American owners to swoop for the Argentina defender.

But despite giving Heinze the all-clear to find a new club after losing his first-team spot to Patrice Evra last season, United have made it clear they have no intention of allowing him to move to Anfield.

Heinze is now weighing up whether to buy out the remaining two years of his Old Trafford contract in order to seal a dramatic switch down the M62 after admitting his desire to move to Liverpool.

New FIFA rules allow players to pay off the final two years of contracts and £65,000-a-week man Heinze knows it will cost him a whopping £6.8m to trigger his exit from United.

No player has moved between the clubs since the unheralded Phil Chisnall left Old Trafford for Anfield in 1964.

If the 29-year-old does buy out his contract, the Champions League finalists would then get Heinze on a free transfer, handing the player a hefty signing-on fee and salary package to compensate him for his United buy-out.

Aurelio Doubt For Reds


Rafa Benitez has confirmed that Fabio Aurelio may not be fit for the start of the new season.

The Brazilian full-back suffered cruciate ligament damage last season and had been expected to be fit in time for pre-season training.

However, Benitez has admitted there is a major doubt over Aurelio.

"Fabio isn't fit yet. It could be another month before he is recovered, but we knew it would be a long time when he suffered the injury," said Benitez.

"He is improving, but it's not easy when you have this kind of injury."

Meanwhike, Benitez has also confirmed the appointment of a new goalkeeper coach with Spaniard Xavi Valero replacing fellow countryman Jose Ochotorena.

"Xavi is an important addition to our backroom staff and I'm looking forward to working with him," said Benitez.