When John Toshack and Kevin Keegan led Liverpool's attack, their understanding was so sure that they were asked to take a scientific test to prove if they were, in fact, telepathic. Should Keegan study a video of Liverpool's demolition of the Newcastle side he now manages, he might demand the same tests for Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard.
The way Gerrard, with one glance, saw and made a geometrically perfect pass that split two Newcastle defenders and allowed Torres to score Liverpool's second last Saturday was sublime. And if they can re-create something similar at the San Siro tonight, Inter Milan, already trailing 2-0 from the first leg on Merseyside, will be making another premature exit from the European Cup.
Yesterday, Torres remarked that his captain was probably the best player on the planet and the admiration is mutual. "I wouldn't swap him for any other striker in the world at the moment," Gerrard said. "He gives us so many different things up front. He looks a threat everywhere he plays. You can play him on his own or with a partner and he just adapts perfectly.
"He has made life tough for the foreign boys who come over to England. When you look at the impact he has had in the last seven months, nobody can make excuses about being given time to settle."
Rafael Benitez's decision to play Torres as a lone striker with Gerrard in support just behind him, is surely one of the significant factors behind a dramatic revival which since the humiliating FA Cup defeat by Barnsley - a match neither man started - has produced five successive wins. Liverpool scored 15 times in those fixtures and Gerrard and Torres scored 10 of the goals.
"We will be looking to play on the counter-attack in Italy and Torres plays that game better than anyone around," said Gerrard. "Not only can you stick the ball over the top and let him chase it but, if you look at the Marseille game [in December], he can make things happen by himself.
"He roasted Marco Materazzi in the first game [against Inter]. Materazzi might think he was hard done by to get sent off but he could have been booked for a bad tackle before he had been shown one yellow, never mind two.
"It just shows how easily Torres' pace and strength unsettled a World Cup winner. The lad who comes in for Materazzi won't be looking forward to his 90 minutes against Fernando."
The Inter Milan manager, Roberto Mancini, was correct to say that, to make the quarter-finals, his team would have to play "a perfect game". Unless they plan to overcome Liverpool in a penalty shoot-out, Inter will have to score three times without reply; a strategy that contains no margin for error.
"We can defend all night if we have to," said Gerrard. "But we believe we will worry the hell out of them. There will be a reluctance from Inter to over-commit against us because they got nothing at Anfield - no change from the defence; no possession and no time to settle. We'll be going for them again because we know that one goal can kill the tie.
"I am relishing playing in the San Siro because I have never done it before and it's going to be another one off my list. I want to play in the cathedrals of Europe. If we get our attitude right, take our chances and believe in ourselves, it will be another night to remember."
The way Gerrard, with one glance, saw and made a geometrically perfect pass that split two Newcastle defenders and allowed Torres to score Liverpool's second last Saturday was sublime. And if they can re-create something similar at the San Siro tonight, Inter Milan, already trailing 2-0 from the first leg on Merseyside, will be making another premature exit from the European Cup.
Yesterday, Torres remarked that his captain was probably the best player on the planet and the admiration is mutual. "I wouldn't swap him for any other striker in the world at the moment," Gerrard said. "He gives us so many different things up front. He looks a threat everywhere he plays. You can play him on his own or with a partner and he just adapts perfectly.
"He has made life tough for the foreign boys who come over to England. When you look at the impact he has had in the last seven months, nobody can make excuses about being given time to settle."
Rafael Benitez's decision to play Torres as a lone striker with Gerrard in support just behind him, is surely one of the significant factors behind a dramatic revival which since the humiliating FA Cup defeat by Barnsley - a match neither man started - has produced five successive wins. Liverpool scored 15 times in those fixtures and Gerrard and Torres scored 10 of the goals.
"We will be looking to play on the counter-attack in Italy and Torres plays that game better than anyone around," said Gerrard. "Not only can you stick the ball over the top and let him chase it but, if you look at the Marseille game [in December], he can make things happen by himself.
"He roasted Marco Materazzi in the first game [against Inter]. Materazzi might think he was hard done by to get sent off but he could have been booked for a bad tackle before he had been shown one yellow, never mind two.
"It just shows how easily Torres' pace and strength unsettled a World Cup winner. The lad who comes in for Materazzi won't be looking forward to his 90 minutes against Fernando."
The Inter Milan manager, Roberto Mancini, was correct to say that, to make the quarter-finals, his team would have to play "a perfect game". Unless they plan to overcome Liverpool in a penalty shoot-out, Inter will have to score three times without reply; a strategy that contains no margin for error.
"We can defend all night if we have to," said Gerrard. "But we believe we will worry the hell out of them. There will be a reluctance from Inter to over-commit against us because they got nothing at Anfield - no change from the defence; no possession and no time to settle. We'll be going for them again because we know that one goal can kill the tie.
"I am relishing playing in the San Siro because I have never done it before and it's going to be another one off my list. I want to play in the cathedrals of Europe. If we get our attitude right, take our chances and believe in ourselves, it will be another night to remember."
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