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**Sir X** · April 30, 2007, 03:18 PM

Re: Benitez piles pressure on Chelsea

Rafa Benitez is predicting Chelsea will struggle when confronted by the Anfield crowd on Tuesday night.

Liverpool are aiming to overturn a one-goal deficit against their old rivals in the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League.

The Reds beat Chelsea 2-0 at home in the Premiership back in January and also notched a 1-0 success at this stage of the Champions League two years ago.

Benitez feels that, despite any positive noises emanating from the Chelsea camp, the intimidating atmosphere at Anfield will be a problem for Jose Mourinho's side.

"I am sure they will see that Anfield is very difficult for them," said Benitez on Sky Sports News.

"I know they have this experience before and you can talk about 'no, no, it's not a problem', but we know it will be a problem for them.

"You know my idea, our supporters, they are the special ones, that's clear."

The Champions League represents Liverpool's only chance of silverware this season, but Benitez is happy with the progress his team have been making.

He added: "I think it's important to see the team in the top four in Europe, it's very positive.

"We want to improve in all the competitions, but at least we have this opportunity which is not easy for the majority of teams, so we must be pleased to be here.

When asked if it was imperative for Liverpool to win the Champions League, he responded: "Imperative? You cannot say that, I don't think for any club in the world it's imperative.

"Maybe it's really more imperative for who spends the more money, it always the same, it's normal.

"Each one (club) has its own problems. We want to win this game and we want to finish third in the league."

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**Sir X** · April 30, 2007, 03:18 PM

Re: Benitez piles pressure on Chelsea

Sheva out of Anfield clash
By Lewis Rutledge - Created on 30 Apr 2007
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Andrei Shevchenko
Andrei Shevchenko has been ruled out of the second leg of Chelsea's UEFA Champions League semi-final with Liverpool due to injury.

The Ukrainian has not travelled to Anfield with his rest of the squad and joins Ricardo Carvalho and Michael Ballack on the sidelines.

Arjen Robben is in contention to play and Michael Essien also returns from suspension, but Jose Mourinho has admitted it is frustrating for the club's injury problems to be continuing.

"Our problem this season is when you have somebody back you have somebody out, we never have the team together," he told Sky Sports News.

Joe Cole's goal gave Chelsea a narrow win in the first leg but Mourinho believes Chelsea's advantage is negated by several factors in favour of Liverpool.

"1-0 is a lead but we have 90 minutes to play with the opponent at home," he explained.

"They are a team that has had one week to rest and prepare for this team against a team that has played two days ago and had to fight physically and mentally in a title race.

"So I don't see a team as being favourites."

If Chelsea score an away goal Liverpool will need three to advance to the final but Mourinho is determined for his side to find the right blend of attack and defence.

"We know that if we do not concede we are in the final so not to concede is an objective, but we will attack and we know if we score we have an advantage," he said.

Chelsea's Premiership challenge was dealt a blow at the weekend as they drew 2-2 with Bolton, but Mourinho does not think that should give his side extra incentive to beat Liverpool.

He commented: "That was the Premiership and this is the Champions League, I don't think there is a relation.

"I just think this is a second leg of a semi-final and the players will have a lot of motivation.

"They are more than ready to face this. There is no bigger motivation than (the possibility of) playing in the Champions League final."

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**Sir X** · April 30, 2007, 03:25 PM

Re: Benitez piles pressure on Chelsea

RAFA: LET'S TAKE INSPIRATION FROM 2005
Mark Platt 30 April 2007
Rafael Benitez will tell his players to take inspiration from Liverpool's 2005 Champions League semi-final triumph over Chelsea as they bid for a place in this season's final.
Chelsea travel to Merseyside defending a one-goal lead from the first leg but Benitez is brimming with optimism and confident the outcome can be the same as it was two years ago when Luis Garcia’s goal sent the Reds to Istanbul.

Anfield is expected to be a cauldron of noise yet again for the latest visit of Jose Mourinho's men and the Spaniard believes the fans will have another big part to play.

"We didn't play well in the first game, but we lost only 1-0 which means there is not a lot of difference between the teams," he said ahead of the eagerly anticipated second leg tie.

"If you can play below your level and only lose by a goal, it means if you raise your level you must have a really good chance.

"We can use the memories of two years ago to our advantage because we know what the players and fans can do working together.

"I remember before the game in 2005 the Chelsea players spoke a lot about being ready for the Anfield atmosphere, but when the game was played they could not handle it. It's very difficult for any opposing team to prepare to play against 12 men.

"The players can also use these positive memories. We will go into the game with a lot of confidence, but we know Chelsea are a very good team and we cannot afford to make mistakes."

Despite trailing on aggregate Benitez is of the opinion that the pressure is all on Chelsea and added: "They are a team which has been built with a lot of money to win major trophies.

"They spent a lot of money on Shevchenko and Ballack last year because their priority is the Champions League. Now they have more difficulties in the Premiership, it's clear if they're going to win a major trophy this is the one they want to win."

Benitez has refused to become embroiled in a war of words with his opposite number but responded to Mourinho's most recent jibes by commenting: "I'm not interested in pinning newspaper articles on the walls of the dressing room.

"I'm not the kind of manager who uses this tactic because the players themselves know what to do. If an opponent makes a really big mistake with comments he makes, maybe it's different, but in this case the players have all the motivation they need to give a good performance
BENITEZ: WE CAN SCORE THREE
Jimmy Rice 30 April 2007

Rafa Benitez believes Liverpool can reach the Champions League final in Athens even if Chelsea score a crucial away goal on Tuesday night.
The 1-0 scoreline at Stamford Bridge last week means the Reds will have to net three if Chelsea get a goal at Anfield.

But Benitez insists he won't panic if this happens – because he knows from experience what his players can do when the chips are down.

"For me, it's better if we don't concede. But we know we can score more than one goal. If we need to score three, okay, we have experience against Olympiacos," the Spaniard told an Anfield press conference on Monday.

"I know we were not playing at our level last week. That's the key for the second leg. If we play to our level I'm sure we will win."

Meanwhile, the Liverpool boss believes the Anfield atmosphere will be a problem for Jose Mourinho's men - despite the experience they have from two years ago.

"Our supporters – they are the special ones," said Benitez. "We don't need to talk about our supporters, it's enough just to hear them.

"At Stamford Bridge, we won in the stands, that was clear. The other supporters were with their flags, but our supporters were with their hearts. We don't need to give flags. It's easy for us.

"Our fans cannot give red cards or award penalties, but they can score goals. I like this about our supporters because we know they will show they are the best in the world again tomorrow night.

"I am sure you will see that Anfield is very difficult for Chelsea. They can say they've experienced it before, they can say it's not a problem, but it will be a problem for them.

"We are playing against a very good team, but we have confidence, and playing with 12 men is easy!"

WATCH NOW: CARRA PREVIEWS CHELSEA TIE
Mark Platt 30 April 2007
Jamie Carragher believes Tuesday's Champions League semi-final second leg has the potential to be one of Anfield's greatest ever occasions.
To watch the full video version of this interview, click here>>

With Liverpool trailing Chelsea 1-0 from the first leg Carragher is well aware of the difficult task he and his team-mate face as they seek to book a place in the Athens final.

But the Reds vice-captain, who will make a record 90th European appearance for the club against the Londoners, insists they have a great chance.

He's calling on all Liverpudlians to help make it another night to remember and reckons if they manage to overturn the deficit it will eclipse that never-to-be-forgotten triumph over Jose Mourinho's men in 2005.

He told Liverpoolfc.tv: "If someone had said at the start of the season, you're losing the Champions League semi-final 1-0, with the second leg to come at Anfield - we'd have bit someone's hand off for that! We've still got a very good chance.

"It was disappointing to get beat (at Stamford Bridge), obviously it would have been nice to get an away goal but all is not lost. I think it's definitely game on at Anfield now, it will obviously be a great atmosphere and we need the fans behind us as much as ever.

"It's very important that we get the first goal of course because an away goal would make it very difficult but were definitely still well in the tie.

"The fact that we're a goal down will probably make the atmosphere that bit better really. Everyone realises now that we've got to really go after them and I think if we get through this time it will go down as one of the great nights at Anfield."

He added: "Hopefully it will be a little bit more open for us and there’ll be more chances for us but they defend very well and I’m sure they’ll come to Anfield looking to do that again. We didn’t create many chances at Stamford Bridge but I’m sure we’ll create more at Anfield.

"We don’t need to go too gung-ho early on though. We should learn from what we did against Benfica last year, we got a bit carried away in the first half and ended up conceding so we’ve got to use our heads."

ALONSO: OUR FANS GIVE US HUGE BELIEF
Steve Hunter 30 April 2007
Xabi Alonso believes Liverpool have a big advantage in the second leg of their semi-final against Chelsea in the form of the Anfield crowd.
The Spanish playmaker claims the roar from the Kop makes the players feel 10-feet tall.

"The role our crowd can play is massive and they give us such a big belief in ourselves," Alonso told a packed press conference at Anfield.

"Playing at Anfield on a European night is always a special occasion and the crowd give us a real boost and the energy that we need for winning the game.

"This is such a massive match. We are 100 per cent focused and have confidence. We made some mistakes in the first game at Stamford Bridge and we were really disappointed with the way we played because we didn't do enough going forward.

"We know we have to do better going forward this time and we have to score a goal. It's important not to concede a goal but we have a lot of belief we can score two goals. We beat them in the Premiership 2-0 at Anfield this season, when we scored two goals in the first half and we played very well in that game."

The Reds number 14 also rejected claims that Liverpool will start the game as favourites.

"Chelsea are 1-0 up from the first leg so they are favourites, not us," added Alonso. "We know what we have to do and we don't need motivation for this game because we are so close to a Champions League final. I think we are a better team than the one in 2005 but we have to show that out on the pitch on Tuesday night."

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