Rafa Benitez fires warning shot fired at Liverpool under-achievers
THEY were intended to strike fear into the hearts of Standard Liege. But Rafael Benitez's words yesterday should act more as warning to his own under-achieving players.
No-one at Liverpool could have complained had they left Belgium a fortnight ago with their Champions League dreams ripped to shreds.
That they emerged with a goalless draw following their battering in the Stade Maurice Dufrasne was about the only positive on a worrying night for the Anfield outfit.
While two subsequent Premier League wins see Liverpool setting the early top-flight pace alongside Chelsea, the level of performance continues to be a major concern with Benitez's men unconvincing against both Sunderland and Middlesbrough.
Liverpool can ill afford any repeat in this evening's Anfield return leg against Standard given the huge stakes - both financially and in terms of silverware - on the table.
And Benitez says: "We played badly and I was really disappointed with the performance and the players know that and they know they can improve.
"We can improve on everything from the first leg. Everything. I was really disappointed with how we played.
"We have confidence that we can beat anyone at Anfield. But we know they can play good, counter-attacking football, we know they are well organised and we know that we need to score more than once just in case."
Despite his team's outstanding first leg display, and the immediate post-match insistence they hadn't missed their best chance to quality, Standard manager Laszlo Boloni changed tack yesterday.
"We'll give it our best," he says. "But if we somehow manage to get through, it will rank as the biggest shock by a Belgian side in Europe for 40 years.
"All I keep hearing is how poorly Liverpool are playing at the moment, but when I looked at the Premier League table on Saturday night, I'm pretty sure they were top with maximum points. That's some poor start."
Benitez, though, dismisses such mind games. "I have been in their position many times in the past, when you are the smaller team against the bigger team and have nothing to lose," says the Spaniard.
"You know you can play without pressure, and the players go out there to do their best and enjoy it. It's more difficult for the bigger team.
"I'm not nervous, though. You try and concentrate and think what advice you can give to the players. I don't really get nervous before a game, it is more tension that anything else."
Liverpool have successfully negotiated the final Champions League qualifying round on all five previous occasions, four of which have come under Benitez's tutelage.
Grazer AK, CSKA Sofia, Maccabi Haifa and Toulouse all threatened a fright, but the Anfield manager believes this is his team's toughest task yet.
"If you consider the other teams we faced in other Champions League qualifiers, then yes, Standard are the best," says Benitez. "Yes, we were lucky in the first leg. They had a goal disallowed, they missed a penalty and we did not create any chances.
Their manager said that to win they will have to do everything perfectly and we will have to be very bad and it will be a fantastic achievement for them if they go through, but for me it wouldn't be a massive surprise. They are a good team."
The first leg saw the debut competitive outing for the strike pairing of Fernando Torres and Robbie Keane, a partnership that remains very much in its formative stages.
But Benitez says: "If you analyse the games they have played together, the last one was much better in terms of understanding.
"The team did not play well and because neither player scored some people will talk, but you could see they had better movement and some passes together."
The clean sheet in Liege couldn't mask an incoherent display from the Liverpool defence on the night.
Daniel Agger, who was making his comeback after missing most of last season with a foot injury, has since been shifted to the substitutes' bench with Sami Hyypia and Martin Skrtel taking turns to partner Jamie Carragher at centre-back.
Skrtel is likely to retain his position tonight with Benitez wary of the physical threat from Standard striker Dieumerci Mbokani, who tormented Liverpool in the first leg.
"Mbokani is a good striker, he has pace and ability so we need to be strong in defence," says Benitez.
"We also know that they kept a clean sheet at the weekend, and that they are good at the back also so we will need to improve our attacking."
Liverpool have progressed on seven of the eight previous times they have secured a goalless draw in an away first leg, their one failure coming against Brondby in the 1995-96 UEFA Cup.
They were indebted to a sparkling performance from Pepe Reina, which included a first-half penalty save from Dante, to keep Standard out in the first leg.
But the Spain international is confident it will not take more goalkeeping heroics for Liverpool to emerge triumphant this evening.
"The team have forgotten the match in Liege," says Reina. "It was just a bad day and we are thinking about qualifying at Anfield.
"I am not a hero for the penalty in the first match. I have just done my job. For me, the penalty was just a part of it.
"For Liverpool, the Champions League is a huge competition and it would be a disaster not to get through.
"Nobody in the squad is thinking about anything other than qualifying. I am always optimistic and I am convinced we will beat Standard.
"But there are no easy games in Europe and we are aware that this match is not decided."
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