Rafa Benitez: No more pressure than any other game

Dec 10 2007

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez claims he is under the same pressure as before any other game heading into tomorrow night’s make-or-break Champions League clash with Marseille.

The Merseysiders face a defining week in their season - the Stade Velodrome qualification decider being followed by a Barclays Premier League summit meeting against Manchester United and then a Carling Cup quarter-final against Chelsea.

Off the field, Benitez will meet with club owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett on Sunday, weeks after he publicly questioned their reluctance to release funds to spend in the January transfer window.

With tomorrow’s showdown coming days after a disappointing 3-1 league defeat to Reading, it is hardly the ideal way to head into the biggest match of the Reds’ campaign so far.

But Benitez, whose future has been called into question as a result of his spat with the Americans, is taking it all in his stride.

“It is an important game but I was hearing the same questions one or two months ago,” said the Spaniard.

“I was surprised then because we were unbeaten at that time, but we have now lost. Maybe in three months’ time we’ll again be talking about the defining week in the season.

“I’ve said 100 times that we have experience of these types of games. If you are fighting to win trophies, you are always going to be under pressure.

“I’m feeling the same pressure as before any game. This is like a final and we are just thinking about this game, then we will think about United and Chelsea.”

Liverpool know a win will guarantee them a top-two finish in Group A and passage through to the tournament’s knockout stages. Even a draw would suffice if Besiktas manage to beat Porto away tomorrow night.

If they do go on to qualify, the Reds will have done it the hard way.

After picking up just one point from their first three games - which included a 1-0 home defeat to Marseille - Benitez’s men have won their last two pool matches and scored 12 goals in the process.

The defeat to Reading aside, the team has been in red-hot form and Benitez is confident his side have what it takes to do what no English team has done - win in Marseille.

“We are in better form than the last time we played them,” he added.

“Then, we had confidence but we didn’t play well. We made mistakes but now we know their team and the tactics of their new manager.

“They prepared for 10 days for that match. We are in a similar position to them and have more confidence.

“We have seen a lot of their games in a row, 10 games from when we played them until now, and we know a lot about their team.”

Benitez has no new injury worries to contend with - Spain striker Fernando Torres having been declared fit after coming off with a knock against Reading.

The Reds boss is likely to dispense with the 4-3-3 he started with at the Madejski Stadium and revert back to a 4-4-2, with Harry Kewell and Ryan Babel set for roles on the wings.

Steven Gerrard, who was brought off midway through the second half at the weekend as “protection” ahead of the Marseille game, will hope to continue his good form of late in the centre of midfield.

And Benitez knows the importance of his captain, adding: “It is clear he is playing well.

“As a team, we are winning games in a row and he is scoring goals and is a key player for us.

“If he is playing well, the team plays better.”

Liverpool have a superb recent record in the Champions League - they won it in 2005 and lost to AC Milan in the final last year.

Peter Crouch, who could start up front alongside Torres, is desperate to see his side remain in Europe this season.

“It was a blip against Reading but hopefully we’ll overcome that,” said the England striker.

“If you look at the last few games, we’ve played some great football and scored a lot of goals and won games convincingly.

“It’s a massive game and I think all of us are looking at it as a game that we have to win to progress.

“We’ve had a fantastic record in the Champions League over the last three seasons.

“We’ve got to two finals and we want to continue that. That starts with Marseille.”