Benitez determined to hit back
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez believes his fallen European champions are desperate to start putting things right – with Fulham in their sights tonight.
Fulham have the worst away record of any British professional side, having failed to win on their travels this term, and were well beaten on Merseyside by Everton last weekend.
So Liverpool dare not allow a situation to arise where the Cottagers get anything at Anfield.
And coming after their Champions League exit and a defeat at Arsenal, Benitez knows his side must get it right this time.
Benitez said: “We have talked and you can see how disappointed the players are, when they feel like that they train harder and they are desperate to play another game, to win and to repair the confidence.
“The Fulham game is very important now. Manchester United have games in hand over us and are five points ahead in second place, but if we can get three points closer to them it makes things possible.
“But I am only thinking about the next three points, not the future. We will see.
“If we beat Fulham things become a little easier, people become calmer and with more confidence.
“But we can talk all we like, we have to win and then make things happen.”
Skipper Steven Gerrard shares Benitez’s annoyance at recent results.
The England midfielder, whose mistake led to Thierry Henry’s winner at Arsenal, said: “As captain, I’m deeply disappointed for the supporters.
“I thought we played a lot better in the second half at Highbury, but we didn’t do enough to win the game.
“It’s been a disappointing week and now we need a big reaction. We’ve got Fulham at home and we need to win to ensure we stay in this top four. We’ve got to get maximum points.
“There’s still a lot to play for and we want to reward the fans with the FA Cup and qualify for the Champions League. It’s not all doom and gloom, but I need to pick myself and the team up.”
Benitez will be without suspended Xabi Alonso, and insists that although results recently have not been good – just one win in five – luck has hardly gone their way.
He said: “Are we playing badly? You can look at results but you can also look at the way we are playing, and we are creating chances, that is clear.
“What is the real difference? The last minutes against Benfica when we conceded or the 30 chances we created against Charlton? And it was also in the last minute at Manchester United when we conceded.
“We have played well in games. We could be five more points better off but for small mistakes, there should have been a point at Arsenal.
“We need a little bit more luck maybe in the last minute of a match.
“Now we have nine more games and everything depends on us. We need to think carefully about what we do. If we win matches then we can be second, we need to work harder.”
