Thursday, January 12, 2012

Dalglish - Work To Do

Kenny Dalglish knows Liverpool still have work to do to reach the Carling Cup final despite their 1-0 victory over Manchester City in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium.

Steven Gerrard's 13th minute penalty set the Reds on their way, with the visitors dominating the first period before lacklustre City improved after the break.

With the second leg at Anfield still to come, the Merseyside club will be favourites to progress to Wembley, but Dalglish was quick to sound a note of caution.

He said: "If you come here and win 1-0, you're not going to be unhappy are you? It was a fantastic performance from the players against a team that are a really good side.

"We've got to be happy, but we're not presuming in any way, shape or form that the job is done.

"We might have a slight advantage with the goal, but that doesn't mean to say there is anybody jumping through hoops. We'll just be as professional as we can in the second leg."

Liverpool was happy to pack their defence in the second period and Dalglish admitted he was happy to leave the Etihad Stadium with a clean sheet.

The Scot added: "It was two different performances in each half. In the first we looked a lot more threatening than in the second, but in the second half with the goal advantage we just battened down the hatches and tried our best to get through it.

"We've had no goals against us - not too many teams have come here and gone away with no goals against them.

"It was a fantastic effort from the players in the second half. It might not have been the prettiest performance, but they didn't fall short in their desire, commitment or ambition in any way."

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