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Carragher: There's Always The Europa League For Liverpool
'Carra' still dreams of progression among the European elite.
Nov 24, 2009 2:31:04 AM
Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes that all is not lost if the Merseyside club fail to reach the last 16 in the Champions League.
The Reds' vice-captain believes that should his side - currently third in Group E - bow out early, they will accept the cards that fate has dealt them and concentrate on winning the Europa League.
"If we don’t make it through [to the Champions League knock-out stage], then we have to accept it and move on," Carragher is quoted on FIFA.com as saying.
"Stevie Gerrard and myself won what was the UEFA Cup [now Europa League] back in 2001 and it was a great moment. It is still a chance to win silverware and there are some great teams in that competition.
"Benfica looked really strong against Everton, and Valencia are in it too. Obviously, we are all still hoping we are in the Champions League come Tuesday night."
Rafael Benitez's men will take on Debrecen on Tuesday night, and the marshal of the Reds' rearguard is hoping for a positive turn of events.
The Premier League outfit must secure all three points in Hungary and hope that Fiorentina drop points against Olympique Lyonnais at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
"The hardest thing is our destiny isn’t in our own hands," Carragher continued.
"When we have been in situations like this before, we have been able to sort it out ourselves. We have to concentrate on our own game and hopefully things will go our way. We have to look after ourselves and get the three points. We just have to concentrate on what we can affect and make sure we do our job.
"Nobody is thinking about the other game yet because we have to make sure we win first. There would be nothing worse than Lyon doing us a favour and we haven’t managed to get the win we need."
Adithya Ananth, Goal.com
Keep up to date with all the latest Champions League news with Goal.com
The Reds' vice-captain believes that should his side - currently third in Group E - bow out early, they will accept the cards that fate has dealt them and concentrate on winning the Europa League.
"If we don’t make it through [to the Champions League knock-out stage], then we have to accept it and move on," Carragher is quoted on FIFA.com as saying.
"Stevie Gerrard and myself won what was the UEFA Cup [now Europa League] back in 2001 and it was a great moment. It is still a chance to win silverware and there are some great teams in that competition.
"Benfica looked really strong against Everton, and Valencia are in it too. Obviously, we are all still hoping we are in the Champions League come Tuesday night."
Rafael Benitez's men will take on Debrecen on Tuesday night, and the marshal of the Reds' rearguard is hoping for a positive turn of events.
The Premier League outfit must secure all three points in Hungary and hope that Fiorentina drop points against Olympique Lyonnais at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
"The hardest thing is our destiny isn’t in our own hands," Carragher continued.
"When we have been in situations like this before, we have been able to sort it out ourselves. We have to concentrate on our own game and hopefully things will go our way. We have to look after ourselves and get the three points. We just have to concentrate on what we can affect and make sure we do our job.
"Nobody is thinking about the other game yet because we have to make sure we win first. There would be nothing worse than Lyon doing us a favour and we haven’t managed to get the win we need."
Adithya Ananth, Goal.com
Keep up to date with all the latest Champions League news with Goal.com
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