John Arne Riise: I’m ready to help fire Liverpool into final

Apr 29 2008 by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post

JOHN ARNE RIISE insists he is in the right frame of mind to help fire Liverpool to another Champions League final – after finally coming to terms with his own goal torment.

The Norwegian’s last-gasp header into his own net gifted Chelsea an away goal in last week’s semi-final first leg at Anfield, which finished 1-1.

Riise’s intervention instantly tilted the balance of power in Chelsea’s favour and the left-back, who had earlier come on for the injured Fabio Aurelio, was left distraught by the late mistake.

His brother revealed he was too upset to talk to anyone about it in the 24 hours after the game, but after returning to training on Thursday and then to the starting line-up at Birmingham City on Saturday, Riise is confident his own-goal misery is behind him. And his team-mates have rallied round in support of him as they attempt to secure a third Champions league final place in four seasons at Stamford Bridge tomorrow night.

“We had a day off the day after the game and I went through things in my head then,” said Riise.

“I just went home and I didn’t want to speak to anyone, I just had to think about it myself. I realised you just have to move on and now I think I have.

“All you can do is focus on upcoming games, not ones that have gone before.

“For me the biggest thing was the timing of the goal, the last kick of the game and such an important game too. That was the most disappointing thing for me and everyone in the team.

“But mentally I am very strong anyway and I managed to get things quickly out of my mind. Coming back on Saturday was all that mattered to me and now it’s Wednesday – just thinking about dong well if I get the chance there.”

Riise hasn’t scored at the right end for Liverpool this season, his last goal coming in the 3-0 win at PSV Eindhoven in last year’s Champions League quarter-final – and his previous strike before that was the winner in the last 16 first leg tie against Barcelona in the Nou Camp.

Another precious away goal, which is the minimum requirement if Liverpool are to have any chance of going through tomorrow, would be the ideal way to make amends for his calamitous slip in the away leg.

“I have a go at goal in any game I play in anyway,” said the 27-year-old. “But especially now we know we are in a difficult position after being 1-1 at home.

“Nobody wants to score an own goal but people make mistakes – and nobody will blame me if it’s 0-0 on Wednesday and we don’t go through.

“But nobody is even thinking about that, we are going to try and get a win and hopefully we will get it. Then the first leg result and the own goal won’t matter. We know we can do it. It’s a case of going there, having a go and knowing we can score. We are positive and know we can get a result.

“It’s a big game and it’s going to be a cracking night so hopefully we can come up winners in the end.

“We have to respect Chelsea for the team they are. They beat Manchester United on Saturday and haven’t lost at home for God knows how many games so I think we have to respect that beforehand – but records are there to be broken. And we will go there and try to win because we have to and it’s for a place in the final of the Champions League.

“So the whole team has a lot of confidence and we know we can have a go and score. It’s going to be tough game but these games are why we play football.”

Riise has one year left on his current Liverpool deal after this season, prompting speculation that manager Rafael Benitez could cash in on him when he revises his squad in the summer.

Riise says: “We know the manager is going to look for other players so everybody has to do their best between now and the end of the season so we’ll see. But we don’t think about that now – we still have so much to play for in the Champions League.”