Rijkaard: Reds have no style but could be kings of
Europe
Frank Rijkaard does not like Liverpool's style but believes they
are capable of beating any team left in the Champions League.
Barcelona's Dutch boss saw his side surrender their European crown
last night on away goals, having won the second leg of their last
16 tie at Anfield 1-0 thanks to a late Eidur Gudjohnsen
goal.
Rijkaard said: "Liverpool produced a great performance. I do not
see it as being progressive, they are very direct while being
mentally strong and motivated. "Other teams will not like playing
them. With luck they can beat anyone in the competition."
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez was just proud of his team for their
resilience under intense second-half pressure. He said: "I am
really proud of my players, they produced almost a perfect
performance. But the fans too played their part."
Rijkaard accepted the loss of Barcelona's European crown with good
grace, saying: "We won this leg, but maybe we were lucky
considering the amount of chances they created in the first half.
"We tried everything possible and I am proud of the spirit and
effort my players put in. They worked hard and tried everything,
but Liverpool are a difficult team to play against.
"They are strong, direct and are mentally tough. That is the way it
goes, sometimes it is like that in football however hard you try.
"I can only congratulate Liverpool, they are a vigorous side and
for the neutral it must have been a game full of good attacking
football.
"From Liverpool it was a great performance. There style is very
difficult to play against. We tried everything, although we were
not at our best. "We fought to the very last seconds, but Liverpool
were highly motivated and they defended in such a way to stop us
getting close to their goal.
"Anfield is such a difficult place to play in."
