We’ll get it right from the start

May 21 2007 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

RAFAEL BENITEZ has warned AC Milan his Liverpool side will not be caught cold again in Wednesday’s Champions League final.

Two years ago in Istanbul, the Anfield outfit fell a goal behind inside the opening minute to Paolo Maldini after conceding a soft free-kick.

It was the catalyst for a dismal first-half showing which saw Liverpool 3-0 down at the break, before their remarkable recovery after the interval before claiming the cup on penalty kicks.

But Benitez reckons his team, who fly out to Greece this morning after returning from their five-day training camp in Spain on Saturday, now possess greater maturity and experience to handle the occasion when they step out in Athens.

“We were talking before the game in Istanbul about not making the mistakes and we started the game by giving the ball away,” says the Liverpool manager.

“We gave away a free-kick and conceded a goal from the free-kick and it’s something that it will be easy to change this time: don’t concede an early goal and then we can start working as a team as normally we do here at Anfield, for example.

“All the players are more mature now. They have more experience. When you want to win trophies, you are always learning.

“You play the final of the FA Cup and you learn from that. Now we’re another final and we’re learning.

“All the players have more experience. Gerrard is one of them, but you can see Carra, Daniel Agger this year, Alonso. All the players can improve if they are clever enough. And we have some good, clever players.”

With the Premiership title out of reach and Champions League qualification already assured, the Anfield manager has concentrated on reclaiming the European Cup in recent weeks.

Liverpool failed to win any of their last three league outings, with Benitez rotating his resources in the defeats at Fulham and Portsmouth and the home draw with Charlton Athletic.

But despite there having been 22 days since the semi-final win over Chelsea when they step out against Milan on Wednesday night, Benitez is convinced his team will not suffer from any rustiness.

“It’s not the same situation as at the start of the season,” said the Liverpool manager. “You start the season and all the players need to play some games because the tempo of the competition is different to the training sessions.

“But now, after 55, 58, 60 games, it’s not a big difference if you play one less game. I think that the players are ready and have seen in the training camp that they are ready.”

However, Benitez admits his team’s Premiership form suffered since securing a place in this week’s final.

“When you play a final of the Champions League, it’s impossible to say to the players and the people in the club ‘don’t be focused on the final’,” added the Spaniard. “You can try, but at the end of the day they’re thinking about the final and how important the final is. It’s the major trophy in Europe, maybe the world. There’s a lot of media. And now maybe our job is to keep the players calm and with confidence for the final. That means giving them all the things they need to know and then it will be easier for them to approach the game.

“The team physically is good. The thing is just to keep this physical condition and to adjust things in terms of the tactical approach for the game. The last training camp was really positive and improved the team spirit and the mentality of the players for the game.”

Bolo Zenden remains a doubt for Wednesday’s game after injuring his ankle last week in La Manga.

* LIVERPOOL’S Craig Lindfield scored as England Under-19s beat the Czech Republic 2-0.

Chris Martin (penalty) completed the scoring in the UEFA Elite Round tournament. Czech skipper Jan Halama was sent off for handball and then Ipswich’s Danny Haynes for a bad tackle.