Rafael Benitez has warned his faltering Liverpool stars that nothing short of a perfect finish to the season will do if he is to make good his promise of delivering Champions League football to Anfield.

Failure to make it into the lucrative competition would be potentially disastrous for American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks as they continue their attempts to find fresh investment in the club which will enable them to mount a serious challenge to Manchester United and Chelsea next season.

Qualifying for Europe’s premier club competition is also vital if they want to attract new players and retain the services of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, as well as Benitez himself, who remains on the wanted list of Real Madrid and Juventus.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just when Rafa Benitez thought things couldn’t get worse for Liverpool, he is now facing the prospect of being withou his star players Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard.

The pain felt around Anfield following on Wednesday’s shock extra-time FA Cup defeat by second division Reading, was compounded Thursday by news that Torres, Gerrard and Yossi Benayoun had all sustained injuries during the 2-1 extra-time loss.

Torres, who lasted barely half an hour at Anfield, faces the longest lay-off of the trio.

The Spain striker is set to be sidelined for six weeks with a knee injury while inspirational club captain Gerrard, substituted at half-time, is expected to be out for a fortnight with a hamstring injury.

Meanwhile, Israeli playmaker Benayoun – one of Liverpool’s better players in a terrible season so far for the Merseysiders – sustained a fractured rib against Reading and could be unavailable for at least a month.

Torres is to undergo an operation but England midfielder Gerrard may not need surgery.

Read the rest of this entry »

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez admits he has plenty of thinking to do after an already troubled season took another turn for the worse with a 3-1 defeat by Fulham here at Craven Cottage.

Saturday’s setback was Liverpool’s fifth reverse in just 11 Premier League fixtures and they trail leaders Chelsea by nine points, with champions Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham all ahead of them in the table.

Benitez also has Champions League qualification to secure and cannot afford another defeat on Wednesday away to French club Lyon, who earlier in the competition won 2-1 at Anfield.

Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, the undisputed top talents in his squad, are both struggling for fitness so Benitez is not short of problems.

Read the rest of this entry »

Xabi Alonso decided to exit Liverpool when the club tried to sell him last summer.

The Spaniard spent five successful seasons at Anfield before leaving for Real Madrid in a £30million move this summer.

However Reds manager Rafa Benitez tried to offload the 27-year-old 12 months ago to raise money for prospective signings, in particular Gareth Barry.

At the time the former Real Sociedad ace had struggled for form making just 16 Premier League starts in 2007/08 but an outstanding campaign last time out saw Real lodge their interest.

Despite handing in a transfer request in July ,Alonso admitted that he had decided to leave the club after they had tried to sell him against his wishes a year previous.

“It was a very difficult decision for me to make,” he told Sky Sports News.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rafa Benitez says Liverpool would need a near-perfect season to take home the English Premier League title.

Liverpool finished second last term after amassing a club record 86 points in the Premier League, but the Anfield faithful will want to go one better this time around.

The Reds are desperate to end their 20-year wait for the championship crown and Benitez believes his squad is strong enough to beat any of their rivals, but concedes there is still room for improvement.

“You have to do everything almost perfectly because in the Premier League you cannot lose many games,” Benitez told the Liverpool Echo.

“You need a good atmosphere, and we have a good squad now.

Read the rest of this entry »

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez have insisted that Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso will be fit for the last three Premier League matches to keep up the pressureon Manchester United.

Torres, who has scored 16 times for his club this season, missed Sunday’s 3-0 victory over Newcastle after suffering a hamstring problem in training on the eve of the Anfield match.

His compatriot Alonso did start but was forced off after falling victim to a shocking challenge by Newcastle’s Liverpool-born midfielder Joey Barton which saw him sent off.

Alonso left the pitch on a stretcher but Benitez played down fears that the midfielder will miss the final three matches of the season.

He also insisted Torres could have featured on the substitutes bench but decided not to gamble his fitness at such a crucial stage in the season.

“Torres had a problem with his hamstring and in the end we decided to leave him out of the squad,” said Benitez, after goals by Yossi Benayoun, Dirk Kuyt and Lucas halved United’s lead at the top of the table to three points.

“We had to decide whether to put him on the bench because to start with him would have been very dangerous.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rafael Benitez will call upon his troops to redo the miracle against AC Milan in Istanbul in 2005 when they face Chelsea tonight in the second leg of the quarter final at Stamford Bridge.

Benitez’s side trail 3-1 from the first leg at Anfield last week and need an heroic peformance in west London to reach the semifinals.

History is against Liverpool, who have never won away from home in Europe against an English team and have not scored three goals at Stamford Bridge since 1989 when they won 5-2.

As if that wasn’t enough to discourage Liverpool, they will also have to become the first team to score three times at the Bridge in a European match.

But Liverpool are no strangers to European miracles under Benitez. Their most famous comeback was in the 2005 Champions League final against AC Milan when they fought back from 3-0 down to beat the Italian team on penalties.

Liverpool have already won 1-0 at Chelsea this season, while Bolton scored three times in their defeat there on Saturday and Benitez believes the Reds can produce another Istanbul-style revival on Tuesday.

“The experience of Istanbul will help us, it shows you can come back from a big score. And it is important to realise that Bolton scored three there on Saturday, anything can happen,” Benitez said on Monday.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rafael Benitez have signed a new deal with Liverpool to keep him at Anfield till 2014.

The former Valencia boss, who led the Reds to Champions League glory in 2005, has been in contract talks with the club for much of the season. He told the club’s website: “My heart is with Liverpool Football Club, so I’m delighted to sign this new deal. “I love the club, the fans and the city and with a club like this and supporters like this, I could never say no to staying.

“I always made clear I wanted to be here for a long time and when I complete my new contract it will mean I have spent over a decade in Liverpool.

“The club is greatly respected around the world due to its incredible history and tremendous heritage. It is my aim to uphold those values and help create a new chapter in our history.

“Throughout this process, I would like to thank the owners for their hard work in finalising the deal. All of us at the club want the same thing, which is to be successful by winning major trophies.”

Joint-owner Tom Hicks said: “It is wonderful news that Rafa has made a long-term commitment to the club. Since he became manager in 2004, he has been responsible for the great progress we have made.

Read the rest of this entry »

Robbie Keane have hinted that he would have enjoyed a fruitful career at Liverpool had there been a different manager. Rafa Benitez brought Keane to Anfield last summer but the Republic of Ireland international was given few opportunities to impress.

He was not a regular starter and was surprisingly left on the substitutes’ bench at times when he appeared to be a good option for the Reds. Keane, who secured a swift move back to Tottenham in the winter transfer window, insists he made the right decision to join Liverpool. But he admits he was perhaps not suited to working with Benitez, and has hinted that he would have liked to be treated with more respect.

“Of course I wish it had gone differently, but I have no regrets,” Keane told Icon magazine.

“I do believe with a different manager it would have worked for me, but different managers have different methods and some have different ideas than those you are used to or believe in.

“People have their own opinions of Benitez. I have nothing against him and will leave people to make their own minds up about him.

“When you’ve been around for a while as a player, all you want is a bit of respect and to be treated the way you feel you deserve to be.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Rafa Benitez have admitted that Liverpool‘s title hopes will depend on the next two games’ outcome after Dirk Kuyt’s equaliser salvaged a 1-1 draw against Manchester City. Failure to claim all three points against Mark Hughes’s team on Sunday has left Liverpool seven points adrift of reigning champions Manchester United, who host Benitez’s team at Old Trafford on March 14.

But despite this latest setback in Liverpool’s bid to end their nineteen-year title drought, manager Benitez insisted they still live in hope of overhauling Sir Alex Ferguson‘s European champions.

“It is clearly more difficult for us now. We have to win against Middlesbrough and Sunderland if we are to win the trophy,” Benitez said.

“This is a bad result because we could have done better with our first-half chances. I have confidence that we can still do it, though.

“We just need to win against Middlesbrough and Sunderland.

“It is not easy to say that United will slip up, but there are still 12 games left to play, so it is not finished yet. It is clear that we will have to go to Old Trafford and beat them, though.

“United can clearly win games with their quality, but if they lose, we have to win and be there to take advantage.”

Liverpool must now put domestic issues to one side as they prepare for Wednesday’s Champions League last 16 first-leg clash against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu.

And Benitez admitted that there is still doubt as to whether captain Steven Gerrard will recover from a three-week hamstring lay-off in time to face the nine-time European champions.

“We will see about Gerrard on Monday. He has to train and we will then chat with him and the doctor,” Benitez said. “He is improving, but it is not easy to say.”

Read the rest of this entry »