Evans getting that sixth sense

May 22 2007 by Mark Currie, Liverpool Daily Post

FORMER Liverpool manager Roy Evans reckons the current Anfield side are a stronger team than that which won the Champions League two years ago and he is backing them to repeat their Istanbul success when they go for a sixth European Cup against AC Milan in Athens tomorrow.

Evans, now assistant to Wales manager John Toshack, has nothing but praise for Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez for masterminding another successful campaign and believes the wily Spaniard won’t forget the lessons of Istanbul, where the Italian side were 3-0 up at half-time, but eventually lost out on penalties.

“Generally speaking Rafa gets his tactics spot-on in the European games, but that was not the case in Istanbul,” he said.

“Liverpool were cut up in midfield and they might not have gone on to win the game had it been only 2-0 at the break.

“I think Milan would have defended that lead but a third goal bred a little bit of complacency and when Didi Hamman came on for Liverpool in the second half it was a different game.

“The manner of the comeback then is bound to be playing on the mind of the Milan players this time round, which gives Liverpool an edge, but I think it’s going to be a close call either way.

“But from a football perspective you could not pick two better teams for a Champions League final.

“Obviously everyone here knows how we want the game to pan out and I feel Rafa has a stronger squad of players than he did two years ago, with the likes of (Javier) Mascherano and (Momo) Sissoko in the middle of the park.

“Liverpool are also stronger defensively and that will hold them in good stead in Athens.”

There’s no question either in Evans’s mind that home-grown duo Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher will be pivotal figures tomorrow evening.

“Over the past five or six years they have been the heart of the club and of the team,” he added.