Liverpool will visit Marseille this evening with the winner moving on to the knockout stage of this year's Champion's League Tournament. Team pride is at stake here, but also millions of dollars in revenue that goes with the knockout stage. Liverpool's manager Rafa Benitez rested Torres, Gerrard and Carragher this past weekend in a 3-1 loss to Reading to have them fresh for this match. "Right now, the Champions League is the most important competition for us," said Benitez. "We were really disappointed to lose the Reading game, but we're only thinking about this one and finding the right solutions."
The result in Anfield went Marseille's way when they played in October, and the French side will be ready to go, "We won't set out looking for a draw," said coach Erik Gerets. "Our preparations have been normal but, from the first second on Tuesday, the players will know they are in a special game, more intense than in the league. It's the match the fans have been waiting for and there'll be adrenalin aplenty on the pitch. We won't freeze, we'll be like lions." Marseille has played well of late, but the competition they have faced pales in comparison to the class that Liverpool will show today.
Liverpool is built for Champion's League play. As clear favorites to win the group, Liverpool played with a complacency that resulted in 2 losses from 3 games to start the group stage. In desperation mode, they have since beaten Bestikas and Porto handily and have knockout stage entry one win away. Liverpool is the better team, have much more experience in the big games, will be the aggressors and will hand Marseille a drubbing today.
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2 comments:
Angry One, what happened to Crouch? Seems he didn't play. MUST be hurt.
Crouch was on the bench for the match, but did not play. If the game was close in the second half I would wager that he would have seen some action.
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