Rafa Benitez refuses to get carried away by victory

Feb 19 2008

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez and captain Steven Gerrard insist no one at Anfield will get carried away with tonight’s stunning victory over 10-man Inter Milan.

The Reds lifted some of the gloom at Anfield and eased the pressure on Benitez as they won the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie 2-0, with late goals from Dirk Kuyt and Gerrard.

Inter were second best throughout and were forced on to the defensive after the first-half sending-off of former Everton defender Marco Materazzi.

Benitez, who came under heavy fire after Saturday’s shock FA Cup loss to Barnsley, told ITV Sport: “It is a great win. But we need to play another game, so we must be careful.

“We have confidence - but we know Inter are a good team.”

Benitez felt his players had done exactly what was required, even though they had to wait until the 85th and 90th minutes to break the Italian resistance.

The Spaniard added: “We had confidence and passion. The team were doing the right things, passing the ball and trying to win the second ball.

“We had confidence and two goals in the last minutes is always very positive.”

It had been suggested Benitez needed a good result to remain in his job but he played down talk of being under pressure.

He said: “The players are playing for the club - we are a fantastic club.”

Gerrard stressed the win was a big one for everyone at Liverpool, not just Benitez.

The skipper told ITV Sport: “It was a big night but it means nothing unless we finish the job off.

“We are not getting carried away. It was a good performance and we are happy but it is half-time.

“For everyone connected with the club, it is big. It is not fair to single people out for praise.”

Gerrard felt Materazzi deserved to be sent off.

He added: “I wasn’t surprised at all. It was two bookable offences, he deserved to go.

“But when it happened, they got a lot behind the ball. They played for 0-0 and we had to be patient.”

The sides will meet again in the second leg at the San Siro in three weeks' time.

Inter lead Serie A by 11 points, and tonight’s defeat was their first since September.

Dutchman Kuyt, who has now scored two in his last two games, added: “We worked really hard and kept patient.

“It is a big win, but we have another game to go. It is really the only silverware we can get - so we have got to keep going.”