Defiant Rafa Benitez insisted last night Liverpool will
reach the Europa League quarter-finals, despite another disastrous
defeat here in France.
The English side slumped to their second loss in four days
thanks to a goal from the appropriately named Lille forward, Eden
Hazard.
It was a cruel blow because the midfielder scored direct from a
free-kick that deceived everyone and sneaked in at the far post,
and it leaves the Reds facing the very real prospect of their
second humiliating European exit this season.
But Benitez remained positive after the game, insisting that his
side had shown a massive improvement in attitude on Monday night's
defeat at Wigan.
And he insisted there are signs that Fernando Torres is
returning to his peak form, which will give Liverpool a massive
edge in the return leg next week.
"I am confident we will progress, I am really pleased with the
reaction of the players in terms of effort and I am confident we
can beat anyone at Anfield with the fans behind us," Benitez
said.
"I would be worried if the effort wasn't there, but we put it
in, and if we repeat that next week then we will go through.
"They are a good team, but we are confident now we will beat
them on what we have seen. This was a big improvement from the last
game, and so we are disappointed by the result because the players'
reaction was positive, and we can take that into the next leg."
Liverpool had their chances in France, but again they spurned
the opportunities to make the tie safe, and Benitez recognises it
is a big problem for his side.
But he believes that with Torres now back from injury and
getting fitter by the game, his side can turn this tie around in
the return leg.
"You need to be clinical when you play away in Europe. When you
have chances you have to score, because away goals are so
important, and we had two or three great chances, and really, we
have to start taking them," he said.
"It is clear in any competition you have to score and in this,
especially, because you need to score away, and so yes, it's
frustrating that we didn't score because we had the chances.
"But I'm pleased there are some signs Fernando is coming back,
and that will make a big difference. You could see that he is
getting to the level we expect, and there were signs about his
pace. He is looking sharp.
"The second leg will depend on how we start. If we score early
we can manage the game, and I believe that we can win if we play
like this."
