Benitez: We can get to Moscow

Apr 10 2008 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

CONFIDENT Rafael Benitez believes Liverpool are in the mood to heap further Champions League heartache on Chelsea as he declared: “We can reach the final again.”

Liverpool will meet the Stamford Bridge outfit for the fourth successive European campaign after eliminating Arsenal in an epic quarter-final at Anfield on Tuesday.

It’s the third time in four years the teams will clash at the semi-final stage, with Benitez guiding his team to victory over Chelsea to reach the final in 2005 and 2007.

Unlike on those two previous occasions, Liverpool must play the first leg at home, hosting Avram Grant’s men on Tuesday, April 22 before travelling south for the return on Wednesday, April 30.

But with his team having already beaten Inter Milan and Arsenal in the knockout stages, Benitez believes his in-form team can go on to secure a final berth at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on May 21.

“We deserve to be in the semi-finals and we feel we can reach the final again,” said the Anfield manager. “Can we get to Moscow, why not?

“We have talked of the possibility and we are proud to be playing against the best teams in Europe at this stage of the competition.

“We have done it before and won and now we can do it again. Why not us in the final? We will always do our best and we know we can do it because we have done it in the past.

“We have figured in the best final ever in Istanbul. Then we reached the final in Athens and we lost, although we played much better there than we did in Istanbul.

“Now we are getting close again and hopefully the next one will be better.

“The match against Arsenal was one of the best European nights ever for the club, but hopefully the next one will be even better.

“Yes, we do well in European matches. We have the passion, the ability and the application for these type of games.”

Benitez added: “Everybody knows how difficult it is to play against Chelsea and how good they are. It has been difficult against them in the past and we know it will be difficult again because they have such good players.

“I know they are at home for the second leg this time, but in these type of games it is just as difficult for both sides.

“Home advantage does not always mean much but I will tell you afterwards whether it was an advantage for Chelsea this time!”

Benitez is one round away from reaching his fourth European final in five seasons, following his UEFA Cup triumph with Valencia in 2004 with Champions League success in Istanbul 12 months later and an appearance in Athens last year.

It’s a dramatic contrast to earlier in the campaign, when co-owner Tom Hicks conceded Benitez would almost certainly have been sacked had Liverpool failed to beat Marseille in their group decider. Despite insisting his future should not be determined by the result against Arsenal, progress to the semi-final, and the discord in the boardroom between Hicks and George Gillett over DIC’s interest in the club, has now placed Benitez back in a strong position in the Anfield corridors of power.

No matter how their Champions League run ends, it seems inconceivable that the Liverpool manager will be relieved of his duties during the summer.

Instead, any repeat of the treatment he has suffered during this season and a failure to match his ambition with funds for the summer transfer market may persuade Benitez to depart of his own accord, particularly if another European Cup is lifted next month.

And with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Valencia, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid all courting the Spaniard, he would not be short of job offers.

However, Benitez has made no secret of his desire to remain at Liverpool for the long term and believes he is rebuilding the “winning mentality” that helped the Anfield outfit dominate both home and abroad in the 1970s and 1980s.

LIVERPOOL’S reserve game against Manchester City this evening will now be played at Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground (kick-off 7pm).

The change of venue is due to the requirement for urgent pitch renovation work to be carried out at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Liverpool’s final reserve league game at home to Wigan Athletic on Monday, April 21 will also be played at Wrexham.