Proud Steven Gerrard believes Liverpool are gaining the momentum to carry them through to another European Cup final.
But the Anfield skipper concedes Rafael Benitez’s side have a tough task to secure a third final appearance in the last four seasons in Moscow.
Liverpool impressively despatched Serie A champions Inter Milan on Tuesday night, a 1-0 victory at the San Siro following a 2-0 success at Anfield in the first leg three weeks ago.
It put them in the quarter-finals for the 12th time in the club’s history, with Liverpool having gone all the way to the final on seven of those previous 11 occasions.
After their poor start to the group stage in autumn, Benitez’s men have won five successive games in the Champions League, scoring 19 goals and conceding just one in the process.
There is a strong likelihood Liverpool could be paired with another Premier League team in the draw for the last eight taking place tomorrow in Switzerland, with Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea also getting through. Barcelona, Roma, Schalke and Fenerbahce have also progressed, but Gerrard reckons none of those seven will want to come up against an in-form Liverpool.
“We have got momentum, we have, there is no doubt about that, and it could be important,” said Gerrard. “We are playing very, very well now. We cannot get carried away, because there are some monster teams left in it, but we are playing a lot better now.
“In Europe we are a force, we do not fear anyone. We have got great experience in Europe, we have been there and we know what it is all about.
“I don’t want to say who we want to play and who we don’t but I think we can let the rest worry about us, because we have got the pedigree in this competition.
“Our record in the Champions’ League speaks for itself, we don’t have to go in the media to defend ourselves or say how good we are. I honestly believe our record says we are a great team in Europe.”
Since Benitez took charge in the summer of 2004, Liverpool have beaten Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona and Chelsea in the Champions League, a impressive roll call that includes victories at the Nou Camp and now the San Siro.
Despite this unprecedented recent record, Liverpool have been heavily criticised in some quarters for supposedly not being a ‘great’ team.
But Gerrard responded: “People have said that teams that are not great have won the Champions League, but I think we can let our record answer that. We have been to final twice in three years and we have won some big games in some important stadiums across Europe, and we have produced the performances of a great European side.”
Fernando Torres’s 26th goal of the season and a stout defensive performance secured Liverpool their latest major European scalp on Tuesday night.
And Gerrard added: “It is a proud moment, these are the stadiums you want to play in as a player and honestly, you dream about winning in places like this. And I think we deserved it.
“We were always a threat on the counter and we had chances, probably more than they did.
“With a player like Torres you are always going to have a threat and have a chance against anyone. What was pleasing is that we were pretty comf-ortable all night. That was the plan to be solid defensively, and overall we handled it really well.”
Last night’s reserve game against Manchester City was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium.
But the Anfield skipper concedes Rafael Benitez’s side have a tough task to secure a third final appearance in the last four seasons in Moscow.
Liverpool impressively despatched Serie A champions Inter Milan on Tuesday night, a 1-0 victory at the San Siro following a 2-0 success at Anfield in the first leg three weeks ago.
It put them in the quarter-finals for the 12th time in the club’s history, with Liverpool having gone all the way to the final on seven of those previous 11 occasions.
After their poor start to the group stage in autumn, Benitez’s men have won five successive games in the Champions League, scoring 19 goals and conceding just one in the process.
There is a strong likelihood Liverpool could be paired with another Premier League team in the draw for the last eight taking place tomorrow in Switzerland, with Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea also getting through. Barcelona, Roma, Schalke and Fenerbahce have also progressed, but Gerrard reckons none of those seven will want to come up against an in-form Liverpool.
“We have got momentum, we have, there is no doubt about that, and it could be important,” said Gerrard. “We are playing very, very well now. We cannot get carried away, because there are some monster teams left in it, but we are playing a lot better now.
“In Europe we are a force, we do not fear anyone. We have got great experience in Europe, we have been there and we know what it is all about.
“I don’t want to say who we want to play and who we don’t but I think we can let the rest worry about us, because we have got the pedigree in this competition.
“Our record in the Champions’ League speaks for itself, we don’t have to go in the media to defend ourselves or say how good we are. I honestly believe our record says we are a great team in Europe.”
Since Benitez took charge in the summer of 2004, Liverpool have beaten Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona and Chelsea in the Champions League, a impressive roll call that includes victories at the Nou Camp and now the San Siro.
Despite this unprecedented recent record, Liverpool have been heavily criticised in some quarters for supposedly not being a ‘great’ team.
But Gerrard responded: “People have said that teams that are not great have won the Champions League, but I think we can let our record answer that. We have been to final twice in three years and we have won some big games in some important stadiums across Europe, and we have produced the performances of a great European side.”
Fernando Torres’s 26th goal of the season and a stout defensive performance secured Liverpool their latest major European scalp on Tuesday night.
And Gerrard added: “It is a proud moment, these are the stadiums you want to play in as a player and honestly, you dream about winning in places like this. And I think we deserved it.
“We were always a threat on the counter and we had chances, probably more than they did.
“With a player like Torres you are always going to have a threat and have a chance against anyone. What was pleasing is that we were pretty comf-ortable all night. That was the plan to be solid defensively, and overall we handled it really well.”
Last night’s reserve game against Manchester City was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium.
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