Thursday, March 11, 2010

Rafael Benitez Desperate To See The 'Real Liverpool' In Lille

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez wants his team to show their true ability when they travel to Lille in the Europa League on Thursday night.

The Reds go into the game on the back of a dispiriting 1-0 defeat at Wigan Athletic on Monday night and Benitez was frustrated that his team did not manage to fire in the way that they have been doing recently.

However, the Spaniard is confident that the result at the DW Stadium was merely a blip and his men will be back to winning ways again soon.

"In the last five to 10 games [before Wigan] we were showing real character and you could see everyone was working really hard, helping each other and working together to try and get results," the Spaniard informed reporters at a press conference at the Reds' Melwood training ground.

"It was a surprise the other day, but hopefully it was just a blip and we will see the real Liverpool on Thursday."

Benitez does know though that the defeat to the Latics make reaching the top four of the Premier League that bit harder this season.

"It was really difficult before and will be more difficult now, so we know we cannot make too many mistakes," he acknowledged.

"We have to carry on and try to get three points in the next league game against Portsmouth. But first we have the Europa League."

The Spaniard does see the game in France as a real opportunity to put things right, however.

"It is very clear this is an opportunity for us to do things right, try to get a good result and be ready for the next game," he affirmed.

"In football sometimes you prefer to have some time to rest, but now I think it is better to play games quickly."

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