Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has insisted his side won't be thinking about penalties going into the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal clash against Arsenal.
The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium. Emmanuel Adebayor gave the home side the lead, heading home from a Cesc Fabregas corner.
The marking was dreadful, but Liverpool made amends minutes later when a magnificent Steven Gerrard run set up Dirk Kuyt to tap in the equaliser.
Arsenal were the dominant side, but Liverpool also had their chances, and Benitez will be looking to do the small things right going into the second leg on home soil.
“You know always that the small things can be the difference,” he said.
“When you play against the top sides, you know a player can change the game, or there can be a mistake in a free-kick, in a one-versus-one situation.
“At the end, the difference between the draws and the wins, or if you lose are the smaller things and the influence of the top-class players.”
The Spanish tactician will be hoping for heart from his players and, should there be penalties, he will be quietly confident that he has the players to do the job.
“I believe sometimes it is more the heart than the quality of the players,” he said, regarding potential penalty takers.
“We will have some good players taking penalties, so I do not think we will practise too much.
“You know which players will be good when they are called from the halfway line. It is not just quality. It is important to be calm and to know what to do.
“When you talk about top-class players, with quality and experience in these situations. Sometimes they can be really good at 18, sometimes at 31 a player is not cool on penalties, so it depends on each one.
“I will not be thinking about penalties. We will be trying to use our experience during the game and not go to penalties.
“If we need to go to penalties, then they have quality and we have quality too.
“The penalties are really a lottery.”
The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium. Emmanuel Adebayor gave the home side the lead, heading home from a Cesc Fabregas corner.
The marking was dreadful, but Liverpool made amends minutes later when a magnificent Steven Gerrard run set up Dirk Kuyt to tap in the equaliser.
Arsenal were the dominant side, but Liverpool also had their chances, and Benitez will be looking to do the small things right going into the second leg on home soil.
“You know always that the small things can be the difference,” he said.
“When you play against the top sides, you know a player can change the game, or there can be a mistake in a free-kick, in a one-versus-one situation.
“At the end, the difference between the draws and the wins, or if you lose are the smaller things and the influence of the top-class players.”
The Spanish tactician will be hoping for heart from his players and, should there be penalties, he will be quietly confident that he has the players to do the job.
“I believe sometimes it is more the heart than the quality of the players,” he said, regarding potential penalty takers.
“We will have some good players taking penalties, so I do not think we will practise too much.
“You know which players will be good when they are called from the halfway line. It is not just quality. It is important to be calm and to know what to do.
“When you talk about top-class players, with quality and experience in these situations. Sometimes they can be really good at 18, sometimes at 31 a player is not cool on penalties, so it depends on each one.
“I will not be thinking about penalties. We will be trying to use our experience during the game and not go to penalties.
“If we need to go to penalties, then they have quality and we have quality too.
“The penalties are really a lottery.”
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