Rafael Benitez insisted tonight he would not allow the latest twist in the club’s takeover saga to affect preperation for their bid to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
The Liverpool manager already had enough on his plate as his team flew out from a stormy Merseyside in the hope of completing victory over Inter Milan, with the decision to leave midfielder Xabi Alonso behind to be with his girlfriend, who had gone into labour.
But such is the amazing soap opera that has overwhelmed Liverpool this season, Benitez and his squad had barely touched down before co-owner Tom Hicks was announcing on the club’s own website he was breaking off negotiations with Dubai International Capital over the sale of a majority share of the club.
So when Benitez reached the San Siro for his press conference, the question was more about keeping his players’ concentration on the match rather than what might be happening to their employers in Dallas, Dubai or London.
With Liverpool 2-0 ahead from the first leg and on the brink of making it four Barclays Premier League clubs in the last eight, Benitez was very clear in his objectives.
He said: “My reaction to this news is to concentrate on my side scoring goals to beat Inter Milan.
“We are thinking only about the game. The aim is to do what we have been doing before against Inter, and we know that if we score then we win the tie.”
On the late decision of Alonso to stay behind in Liverpool with his girlfriend, Benitez said: “Xabi wanted to stay behind. He had said he would come if things were okay, but we couldn’t wait, wait, wait, and I now have to use my squad.”
Benitez was able to confirm Javier Mascherano’s appearance in the squad after he recovered from a groin injury, and the Argentinian is clearly most welcome in the camp under the circumstances.
He will slot straight back into the side, with the prospect of Lucas Leiva also keeping his place in midfield.
Benitez is also considering using Peter Crouch in attack, saying: “He is a player that Inter are not used to facing.”
But whatever side the Spaniard puts out, the keys to success here are surely Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, who have hit 44 goals between them this term and who their manager describes as “both being on fire”.
The Italians are clearly concerned about the prolific partnership, having seen on TV a catalogue of goals from the pair over the weekend. Their questions were all about Liverpool’s star players.
Maybe it is good the worrying debate over Liverpool’s future seems to go over the heads of the Milan media.
And Benitez is just concentrating on taking Liverpool into the European Cup last eight for the 12th time in their history.
He said: “We have great confidence. When we played Inter in the first game we had just been beaten by Barnsley. Now we face them after five successive victories.
“We are playing well, and we will not just be defending. It it is impossible for us to defend for a long time against such a great team.
“We will be looking to score, to hit on the break. I believe that Torres is the ideal player for this, if we score one then we will surely be through.”
And Benitez knows at the back he has 30 year-old Jamie Carragher, who will be setting a club record of 100 European appearances for Liverpool.
Benitez said of his best defender: “He has the right mentality for this type of game. He has been a very important player for us in the past and will continue to do so in the future.”
The Liverpool manager already had enough on his plate as his team flew out from a stormy Merseyside in the hope of completing victory over Inter Milan, with the decision to leave midfielder Xabi Alonso behind to be with his girlfriend, who had gone into labour.
But such is the amazing soap opera that has overwhelmed Liverpool this season, Benitez and his squad had barely touched down before co-owner Tom Hicks was announcing on the club’s own website he was breaking off negotiations with Dubai International Capital over the sale of a majority share of the club.
So when Benitez reached the San Siro for his press conference, the question was more about keeping his players’ concentration on the match rather than what might be happening to their employers in Dallas, Dubai or London.
With Liverpool 2-0 ahead from the first leg and on the brink of making it four Barclays Premier League clubs in the last eight, Benitez was very clear in his objectives.
He said: “My reaction to this news is to concentrate on my side scoring goals to beat Inter Milan.
“We are thinking only about the game. The aim is to do what we have been doing before against Inter, and we know that if we score then we win the tie.”
On the late decision of Alonso to stay behind in Liverpool with his girlfriend, Benitez said: “Xabi wanted to stay behind. He had said he would come if things were okay, but we couldn’t wait, wait, wait, and I now have to use my squad.”
Benitez was able to confirm Javier Mascherano’s appearance in the squad after he recovered from a groin injury, and the Argentinian is clearly most welcome in the camp under the circumstances.
He will slot straight back into the side, with the prospect of Lucas Leiva also keeping his place in midfield.
Benitez is also considering using Peter Crouch in attack, saying: “He is a player that Inter are not used to facing.”
But whatever side the Spaniard puts out, the keys to success here are surely Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, who have hit 44 goals between them this term and who their manager describes as “both being on fire”.
The Italians are clearly concerned about the prolific partnership, having seen on TV a catalogue of goals from the pair over the weekend. Their questions were all about Liverpool’s star players.
Maybe it is good the worrying debate over Liverpool’s future seems to go over the heads of the Milan media.
And Benitez is just concentrating on taking Liverpool into the European Cup last eight for the 12th time in their history.
He said: “We have great confidence. When we played Inter in the first game we had just been beaten by Barnsley. Now we face them after five successive victories.
“We are playing well, and we will not just be defending. It it is impossible for us to defend for a long time against such a great team.
“We will be looking to score, to hit on the break. I believe that Torres is the ideal player for this, if we score one then we will surely be through.”
And Benitez knows at the back he has 30 year-old Jamie Carragher, who will be setting a club record of 100 European appearances for Liverpool.
Benitez said of his best defender: “He has the right mentality for this type of game. He has been a very important player for us in the past and will continue to do so in the future.”
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