Rafael Benitez left Anfield with his confidence undiminished last night despite Liverpool’s late surrender of an away goal to Chelsea.
John Arne Riise scored an own goal with virtually the last touch of the first leg of the semi-final tie to cancel out Dirk Kuyt’s first-half strike and leave Avram Grant’s side in the ascendancy going into next Wednesday’s return.
Benitez has never sent out a Liverpool side that has even scored a goal at Stamford Bridge during his four seasons in charge but he now needs at least two to take the tie in the 90 minutes.
However, after seeing Liverpool denied extending their lead on the night by a series of fine Petr Cech saves, the Spaniard believes his players can now take their opportunities to get to a second Champions League final.
“It will be difficult but we have confidence,” said Benitez. “We had three clear chances and in these games it’s not easy to create anything.
“So I am really disappointed because you need to take good chances.
“Now we need two goals at Stamford Bridge to win it in 90 minutes so we if we have chances again we have to take them.
He added: “We are very disappointed to concede at the end, especially an own goal, but we need to change our change our minds now and start thinking positively.
“We need to change the statistics right now, that’s the only thing we can do.
“Watching the team today, especially in the first 30 minutes of the second half, we were on top of them. And we will need some luck.”
Benitez was critical of the Austrian officials, as Riise’s calamitous late header seemed to come after the allotted four minutes of stoppage time had been played.
There also appeared to be good claims for a penalty in the first half when Kuyt appeared to be pushed by Ashley Cole – but the appeals were ignored by referee Konrad Plautz, who also took charge of Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Marseille at Anfield in the group stages.
“It’s not the first time we’ve had decisions against us,”
said Benitez. “It was the same in the Marseille game.
I’ve seen too many things and I’d prefer not to say too much now.
“But it’s hard to understand. We had 94, 95 minutes and that’s difficult to explain. One minute in the first half, four in the second.
“But we can’t blame the referee for the own goal. The player can put it in the stand or out to the side so everybody is really disappointed in this situation.
“Now we need to go there and win.”
Under-fire co-owner Tom Hicks attended last night’s game after meeting with Benitez earlier in the day at Melwood.
Benitez, who has been given the verbal support of Hicks should he remain in control of the club at the end of the ongoing power struggle with fellow American George Gillett, said: “We had a meeting just to say hello and we will maybe have a meeting with both owners and everyone else. It will be more positive when we are all together.
“But if we have anything important to say we will say it.”
Meanwhile, Avram Grant believes Chelsea took a “big step” towards the Champions League final after their injury-time draw.
He said: “I know that 1-1 away from home in Europe is good result. It is a big step now towards our goal.
“I felt we deserved it. There could have been a couple of penalties for us and we controlled the game until Liverpool scored.
“Both goals came from mistakes, but I must also praise Petr Cech.
“It is always difficult for teams to play at Anfield with the support Liverpool’s fans create, but it can also be intimidating for teams who visit Stamford Bridge.
“We know this is a big step towards the Champions League final now, and we believe we can complete the task in the second leg.”
John Arne Riise scored an own goal with virtually the last touch of the first leg of the semi-final tie to cancel out Dirk Kuyt’s first-half strike and leave Avram Grant’s side in the ascendancy going into next Wednesday’s return.
Benitez has never sent out a Liverpool side that has even scored a goal at Stamford Bridge during his four seasons in charge but he now needs at least two to take the tie in the 90 minutes.
However, after seeing Liverpool denied extending their lead on the night by a series of fine Petr Cech saves, the Spaniard believes his players can now take their opportunities to get to a second Champions League final.
“It will be difficult but we have confidence,” said Benitez. “We had three clear chances and in these games it’s not easy to create anything.
“So I am really disappointed because you need to take good chances.
“Now we need two goals at Stamford Bridge to win it in 90 minutes so we if we have chances again we have to take them.
He added: “We are very disappointed to concede at the end, especially an own goal, but we need to change our change our minds now and start thinking positively.
“We need to change the statistics right now, that’s the only thing we can do.
“Watching the team today, especially in the first 30 minutes of the second half, we were on top of them. And we will need some luck.”
Benitez was critical of the Austrian officials, as Riise’s calamitous late header seemed to come after the allotted four minutes of stoppage time had been played.
There also appeared to be good claims for a penalty in the first half when Kuyt appeared to be pushed by Ashley Cole – but the appeals were ignored by referee Konrad Plautz, who also took charge of Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Marseille at Anfield in the group stages.
“It’s not the first time we’ve had decisions against us,”
said Benitez. “It was the same in the Marseille game.
I’ve seen too many things and I’d prefer not to say too much now.
“But it’s hard to understand. We had 94, 95 minutes and that’s difficult to explain. One minute in the first half, four in the second.
“But we can’t blame the referee for the own goal. The player can put it in the stand or out to the side so everybody is really disappointed in this situation.
“Now we need to go there and win.”
Under-fire co-owner Tom Hicks attended last night’s game after meeting with Benitez earlier in the day at Melwood.
Benitez, who has been given the verbal support of Hicks should he remain in control of the club at the end of the ongoing power struggle with fellow American George Gillett, said: “We had a meeting just to say hello and we will maybe have a meeting with both owners and everyone else. It will be more positive when we are all together.
“But if we have anything important to say we will say it.”
Meanwhile, Avram Grant believes Chelsea took a “big step” towards the Champions League final after their injury-time draw.
He said: “I know that 1-1 away from home in Europe is good result. It is a big step now towards our goal.
“I felt we deserved it. There could have been a couple of penalties for us and we controlled the game until Liverpool scored.
“Both goals came from mistakes, but I must also praise Petr Cech.
“It is always difficult for teams to play at Anfield with the support Liverpool’s fans create, but it can also be intimidating for teams who visit Stamford Bridge.
“We know this is a big step towards the Champions League final now, and we believe we can complete the task in the second leg.”
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