Rafa: Penalties? Not Just Yet

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has insisted his side won't be thinking about penalties going into the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal clash against Arsenal.

The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium. Emmanuel Adebayor gave the home side the lead, heading home from a Cesc Fabregas corner.

The marking was dreadful, but Liverpool made amends minutes later when a magnificent Steven Gerrard run set up Dirk Kuyt to tap in the equaliser.

Arsenal were the dominant side, but Liverpool also had their chances, and Benitez will be looking to do the small things right going into the second leg on home soil.

“You know always that the small things can be the difference,” he said.

“When you play against the top sides, you know a player can change the game, or there can be a mistake in a free-kick, in a one-versus-one situation.

“At the end, the difference between the draws and the wins, or if you lose are the smaller things and the influence of the top-class players.”

The Spanish tactician will be hoping for heart from his players and, should there be penalties, he will be quietly confident that he has the players to do the job.

“I believe sometimes it is more the heart than the quality of the players,” he said, regarding potential penalty takers.

“We will have some good players taking penalties, so I do not think we will practise too much.

“You know which players will be good when they are called from the halfway line. It is not just quality. It is important to be calm and to know what to do.

“When you talk about top-class players, with quality and experience in these situations. Sometimes they can be really good at 18, sometimes at 31 a player is not cool on penalties, so it depends on each one.

“I will not be thinking about penalties. We will be trying to use our experience during the game and not go to penalties.

“If we need to go to penalties, then they have quality and we have quality too.

“The penalties are really a lottery.”

Rafa Benitez Insists Liverpool Will Seek To Score Against Arsenal

Rafael Benitez insists Liverpool have no intention of playing for a goalless stalemate when they complete their trilogy against Arsenal tomorrow night.

The teams, sporting much-changed line-ups, met in the Premier League on Saturday and played out a second 1-1 draw at the Emirates in four days.

They clash again at Anfield tomorrow for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

With Dirk Kuyt’s away goal in the bag, Liverpool know a clean sheet would be enough to progress to the semi-final.

But manager Benitez said: “We have confidence, but know they have quality, can play well away and are dangerous.

“It is very difficult to play for a 0-0 draw. I don’t know how to do it.”

Liverpool’s draw at the weekend keeps them three points ahead of Everton in the race for fourth with just five games remaining.

Peter Crouch gave the visitors the lead on 41 minutes, with Nicklas Bendtner equalising nine minutes after the interval.

Benitez made eight changes from the team that faced the Gunners in the Champions League last Wednesday, handing a debut to 20-year-old French midfielder Damien Plessis.

And he praised his makeshift line-up, and said: “It was an open game at the end and we knew we had to work hard to control the game.

“We did that for long spells and scored a great goal, were well organised and in a good position.

“Crouch played really well, Benayoun, Riise too and the debut of Plessis. The work-rate was good from a lot of players who normally do not play. They all did well.

“We could have won because we had the chances, but then again we could also have lost as they had chances as well.

“At the end we are a little disappointed because we had one or two attacks towards the end to win the game – so it could have been better, but then again, it could have been worse.”

Of the wholesale team changes, Benitez added: “Arsene Wenger was trying to keep some players for the second leg, and we were trying to do the same. You could see that some of the players were tired.

“But they will play the next game with a lot of passion and I don’t think they will be tired.”

The result delivered a major blow to Arsenal’s faint hopes of winning the title.

But Benitez believes that could work against Liverpool, and said: “For both teams, Saturday was important – for us to be closer to the top four and for Arsenal to be in the race for the title.

“I think it will be difficult for them. I was asking Arsene before in the race for the title, you cannot lose points now.

“Maybe the only option now for them is the Champions League, which means they will be more dangerous for us.”

Liverpool Face Huge Test From Wounded Arsenal

Arsenal may be down but manager Arsene Wenger said they were very definitely not yet out of the hunt for major honours this season, which they can prove when they face Liverpool for the third time in a week on Tuesday.

Wenger takes his weary men to Anfield for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final after two 1-1 draws with Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium in the last few days.
Wednesday's draw in the first leg of their Champions League tie was followed by another 1-1 draw in the Premier League there on Saturday that left Arsenal third in the table and six points behind Manchester United with five matches to play.

Admitting to the club's Web site (www.arsenal.com) that Emmanuel Adebayor, Gael Clichy and Aleksandr Hleb were all "feeling tired", Wenger also said Arsenal's Champions League adventure was far from over.

"It's a very important one for us and for them. We will play our game on Tuesday night and try to win the game, and give absolutely everything," he said.

"Anyway, our season has not been disastrous, you know. People expected us to be between 10th and 12th at the beginning of the season so we are beyond expectation."

Arsenal proved against AC Milan in the last round they could overcome the disadvantage of a home draw in the first leg and win away to advance, which they did with a 2-0 win at the San Siro after a 0-0 draw at the Emirates.

Midfielder Cesc Fabregas, talking to Spanish TV channel Antenna 3, said that playing in front of Liverpool's passionate crowd on a European night could also help their chances.

"It is incredible the passion with which Liverpool fans live their games," he said. "Even the smallest cup game has the greatest atmosphere there, it is as if they play with 12 men. The good thing about playing away is that we don't have the pressure from our own fans."

Liverpool tend to reserve their best football for their European matches and defended superbly against Arsenal last week after falling behind to an Adebayor goal, equalising soon afterwards through Dirk Kuyt.

If they keep a clean sheet on Tuesday they will advance to the last four, with coach Rafa Benitez likely to try to frustrate Arsenal's exciting approach play then look for a quick breakaway from his own team to score on the counter-attack.

"Arsenal have a style that everyone knows," Benitez said after last Wednesday's match.

"They can have plenty of possession, they can play long passes with Fabregas, they can play in between with (Robin) van Persie or Hleb. So we knew we needed to work hard.

"We knew they would have possession so we needed to control, regain and play counter-attack."

Few teams can survive an Arsenal onslaught for a whole match but that is probably what Liverpool will have to do to capitalise on their home advantage and reach a semi-final against either Chelsea or Fenerbahce.

Probable teams:

Liverpool: Pepe Reina; Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel, Sami Hyypia, John-Arne Riise; Fabio Aurelio, Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso, Yossi Benayoun; Fernando Torres

Arsenal: Manuel Almunia; Kolo Toure, William Gallas, Phillipe Senderos, Gael Clichy; Emmanuel Eboue, Aleksandr Hleb, Matthieu Flamini, Cesc Fabregas; Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor.

Benitez Expects Tight Finish

Rafael Benitez knows there is a fine line between victory and failure - but remains convinced Liverpool have what it takes to make it through to the Champions League semi-finals next week.

The Reds secured a second 1-1 draw at Arsenal in the space of four days, which severely dented the Gunners' Barclays Premier League title hopes.

"You know always that the small things can be the difference," said the Spanish coach. "When you play against the top sides, you know a player can change the game, or there can be a mistake in a free-kick, in a one-versus-one situation. At the end, the difference between the draws and the wins, or if you lose are the smaller things and the influence of the top-class players."

Should the two sides draw 1-1 again on Tuesday night and remain unable to be separated after extra-time, then the right to play either Chelsea or Fenerbahce in the semi-finals of Europe's elite club competition would be decided on spot-kicks.

While the Liverpool manager - whose men knocked Chelsea out on penalties to reach the final last season - insists the shoot-out is a "lottery", Benitez feels it comes down as much to keeping a cool head under pressure as it does natural talent.

"I believe sometimes it is more the heart than the quality of the players," said the Liverpool manager. "We will have some good players taking penalties, so I do not think we will practise too much.

"You know which players will be good when they are called from the halfway line. It is not just quality. It is important to be calm and to know what to do.

"When you talk about top-class players, with quality and experience in these situations. Sometimes they can be really good at 18, sometimes at 31 a player is not cool on penalties, so it depends on each one.

"I will not be thinking about penalties. We will be trying to use our experience during the game and not go to penalties."

Crouch Hints At Anfield Departure

Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has given the biggest hint yet that he will quit Anfield this summer to save his international career.

England boss Fabio Capello has made it perfectly clear to his players that he won't pick individuals who don't get regular match action for their clubs.

And with Crouch now an almost permanent fixture on the Liverpool bench, the signs are he'll need to move to remain involved in the international set-up.

The tall striker started Saturday's game with Arsenal, looking threatening and notching the opening goal of the game. But judging by his comments afterwards, it seems that performance was more an advert for the shop window than a challenge to coach Rafa Benítez to pick him for the forthcoming Champions League quarter-final rematch against the Gunners.

"It's pretty clear I probably won't start," he said. “Obviously if the manager plays one up front, he is more than likely to go with Fernando [Torres] - and rightly so, he's been fantastic this season. Before, when Rafa was rotating at least I was getting a game here and there. But the manager's obviously stuck with a formation now that seems to be working, and credit to the players that have been playing in that system.

"I would love to stay," continued Crouch when asked about his future. "It is a fantastic club and I love everything about it, but I have got to be realistic. If I want to have any aspirations of playing for England, or furthering my career, then I have to be playing - and that doesn't seem to be the case at the moment. I will have to look at it - but that's certainly something I won't be doing now, I will be doing it at the end of the season."