Sunday, November 02, 2008

Benitez Keen To Seal The Deal


Rafael Benitez wants Liverpool's progress into the Champions League knockout stages secured as quickly as possible so he can concentrate on the Barclays Premier League.

Benitez sees Tuesday's Group D match at home to Atletico Madrid as the opportunity to settle one issue and give himself the luxury of qualifying for the last 16 with two games to spare for the first time.

That would mean Liverpool can focus their energy on their attempt to win the league title for the first time in 18 years.

If Liverpool beat Atletico and PSV Eindhoven lose in Marseille, the five-time European champions will be guaranteed a place in the knockout phase in February.

Their final two group matches against Marseille at Anfield on November 26 and away to Eindhoven on December 9 would allow Benitez to rest senior men and give squad players valuable European experience.

That is par for the course at Manchester United, but not something Benitez has managed at Anfield.

Benitez, whose side were held to a 1-1 draw in Madrid last month, said: "Clearly we want to be qualified for the knockout stages as quickly as we can, and a win on Tuesday will almost certainly settle that.

"But Madrid are a fine side, and away from home they are very dangerous on the counter-attack with some outstanding players of pace and quality.

"If we can win it will be a massive result for us. If we can get the points to qualify as soon as possible it will take a lot of pressure from us.

"It will mean that we can use other players in the final group matches and be able to concentrate our strengths and efforts in the Premier League to maintain our position in the title race.

"But I am sure that Atletico Madrid is thinking just the same thing, they will want to ensure their qualification as quickly as possible, too."

Atletico would also ensure a place in the last 16 if they won at Anfield and PSV lost in the south of France.

"The incentive for both clubs is clear, the winners would have 10 points and that could well be enough," Benitez added.

Benitez expects to have former Atletico striker Fernando Torres back on Tuesday, the Spanish international having missed the trip to the Vicente Calderon last month with a hamstring injury suffered on international duty.

"Torres is very, very close. But we have still been winning without him so we will not take any risks," added Benitez.

"But clearly he is very important to us. He can win games when we are not playing well. He can change games.

"Always you miss a player like that, but I am really pleased with the performances of the other players without him.

"We have good quality, so when one or two big players are not available we have handled that situation.

"What pleases me is that we have been without three of our top players for maybe half the games we have played this season.

"Javier Mascherano, Torres and Martin Skrtel have all missed several games each but we are still doing okay.

"That shows the quality we have in the squad now, it has improved at Liverpool."

The game will be an emotional one for Torres, a boyhood Atletico fan who scored 102 goals in 243 appearances for the club between 2001 and 2007.

But it will also see a return to Anfield for former Liverpool stars Luis Garcia - a hero of the Champions League Final victory in Istanbul three years ago - and Florent Sinama Pongolle.

Garcia left Liverpool for Atletico in 2007 after three seasons in which he made 77 league appearances, scoring 18 goals. His most significant strike in a red shirt came when he got the only goal in the 2005 semi-final against Chelsea.

Sinama Pongolle also made a telling contribution to that Liverpool campaign, scoring the first of three second-half goals which rescued them from elimination against Olympiacos in December 2004.

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