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Rafael Benitez Wishing For A Liverpool 'Miracle'
The Reds boss is invoking the spirit of Istanbul after dropping more points against Lyon.
Nov 4, 2009 8:20:32 PM
Rafael Benitez has urged his charges to muster up a classic Liverpool "miracle", after Wednesday night's 1-1 draw with Olympique Lyonnais left their Champions League hopes dangling by a threat.
Lisandro Lopez's last-gasp equalizer at the Stade Gerland has left the Reds some five points adrift of second-placed Fiorentina in Group E, the Italian side having run out 5-2 winners over Debrecen.
The result means the Merseysiders have won just one of their last eight games in all competitions, but Benitez - the man behind that famous Champions League win in 2005 - has not yet lost hope.
He said in The Mirror: “We have done miracles before and we have to believe that we can achieve them again.
“Clearly it is difficult, but it is not impossible yet, we have to keep going. We have to try to win and hope the other results go our way.
“We do still have a chance. We can not talk too much about other results until we win our game so we have to make sure we do that, and then hope that the miracle happens.”
Benitez's long-term prospects at Anfield have come under scrutiny in recent weeks, but the Spaniard isn't bothered by the speculation and remains focused on trying to turn things around.
“I don’t think my job is on the line - I am thinking just about the next game. We can take many positives from this game, because we had too many problems coming into it,” he said.
“I have to be really disappointed because it was a great opportunity we had some chances, but it is very simple for me to keep my head up high because watching the performance of the players on the pitch, the attitude of the players, the way the fans supported us, that will keep me going.
“Sometimes football can be cruel, but you have to keep going, you have to keep belief, and believe your team can go on.”
Mick Maguire, Goal.com
Lisandro Lopez's last-gasp equalizer at the Stade Gerland has left the Reds some five points adrift of second-placed Fiorentina in Group E, the Italian side having run out 5-2 winners over Debrecen.
The result means the Merseysiders have won just one of their last eight games in all competitions, but Benitez - the man behind that famous Champions League win in 2005 - has not yet lost hope.
He said in The Mirror: “We have done miracles before and we have to believe that we can achieve them again.
“Clearly it is difficult, but it is not impossible yet, we have to keep going. We have to try to win and hope the other results go our way.
“We do still have a chance. We can not talk too much about other results until we win our game so we have to make sure we do that, and then hope that the miracle happens.”
Benitez's long-term prospects at Anfield have come under scrutiny in recent weeks, but the Spaniard isn't bothered by the speculation and remains focused on trying to turn things around.
“I don’t think my job is on the line - I am thinking just about the next game. We can take many positives from this game, because we had too many problems coming into it,” he said.
“I have to be really disappointed because it was a great opportunity we had some chances, but it is very simple for me to keep my head up high because watching the performance of the players on the pitch, the attitude of the players, the way the fans supported us, that will keep me going.
“Sometimes football can be cruel, but you have to keep going, you have to keep belief, and believe your team can go on.”
Mick Maguire, Goal.com
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