“Now we have to keep going and we hope the end of this season will be good for us.

“We’re still in the race for the top four and in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

“We have two months to go and a lot of games to play.

“This week we’ve shown we have the quality to be fighting until the end of the season. We have to keep believing.”

Lucas is only too aware that the Reds will have to step up another gear tomorrow.

Title-chasing United are desperate to halt a run of three straight defeats to their arch rivals and prevent Liverpool completing a second successive league double over them.

The stunning 4-1 hiding Benitez’s men dished out at Old Trafford last March still hurts. It was United’s heaviest home defeat for 17 years and Liverpool’s biggest win there since 1936.

Lucas played a key role in that triumph after being called up to replace the injured Xabi Alonso.

And he helped pile more misery on United when he laid on the second goal for David Ngog in the Reds’ 2-0 win at Anfield back in October.

“The game at Old Trafford last season was special,” he said.

“At that time I was playing more as a substitute but Xabi got injured after the Real Madrid game so I played.

“We had a great feeling that day and I thought I played well against them, but what’s happened in the past is history.

“Each game is different but what those games do show is that we are capable of beating them.

“United are playing really well and have many good players – we know how difficult it will be.

“We have to go there, stay focused and try to win. We have enough quality to get the three points.

“If we can do the same as last season we will be delighted.”