Liverpool Must Continue Winning Run, Starting At Arsenal - Steven Gerrard
Still a long way to go, reckons Reds captain...
By Alan Dawson
Since the goal-less draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Liverpool have beaten Bolton Wanderers and Everton and captain Steven Gerrard has called on his Reds to extend that form on the road, as the club take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening.
And the spirit shown in the 1-0 derby win over Everton on Saturday had Gerrard smiling.
He told the Liverpool Echo: "You always enjoy beating your local rivals but it was the way we did it that was really satisfying, particularly after losing a man after half an hour.
"I thought we showed fantastic character, a great attitude and I also thought we played some decent stuff at times. I thought it was a fully deserved win.
"You could see what it meant to everyone on the pitch at the end and it was the same again in the dressing room afterwards; everybody is still on a high.
"Now we have got to take that high into the next game," the Englishman said.
"It's a tough one, Arsenal away always is. But we have used beating Everton as a platform in the past and we've got to do it again. We want to extend our run and go on to better things."
The successful shut-out against Everton ensured that Pepe Reina has kept his sheet clean since Robert Huth's last gasp equalising goal for Stoke City in mid-January.Gerrard, while urging for a win against a deflated Arsenal side who suffered a second successive loss at the weekend to Chelsea, warned his own side against complacency, indicating that their top four finish is not yet complete.
"We know there is a long way to go and we want to make sure we are in the top four at the end of the season," he added.
"It's performances like this that will get you in there. We have got to try and keep this run going, as we can't afford any slip-ups.
"There is pressure coming from Tottenham, Manchester City and Aston Villa
"There are a couple of very tough games coming up but if we can show what we have done in the last six games, I don't see why we can't maintain it."
Hosted by Stephen Crawford & Adam Scime
We've had two tremendous matches today, so lets hope the intensity keeps up in the next clashes!
Until next time, this is LIVE commentator Stephen Crawford signing off.
From everyone here at Goal.com, thanks for joining us!
Here's the thoughts of Benfica coach Jorge Jesus, who felt his side deserved a point from the game.
"They were the better team on the night and that's the story of the day.
"We have to keep fighting, pick ourselves up, get the confidence back and challenge in the other competitions and in the second leg of this tie too.
"They punished us on every occasion; they scored some quality goals and they deserved to win."
Full story HERE
“The score made it look like it was an easy game, but it certainly wasn't.
(Strange... it looked pretty easy from where I was sitting, but hey.)
“I do not think it's over yet. I remember a clash between Milan and Deportivo la Coruna when Milan was also ahead by four goals, and in the end Deportivo eliminated Milan.
“I went into the Arsenal dressing room after the match to speak to Robin van Persie. I had agreed with him to swap shirts – my sons are big fans of his and he brought two for them. They will be delighted.
Van Bommel went on to talk about a possible move to PSV in the future, but was quick to point out his terms for the move.
“I've spoken with PSV, but we don't have an agreement yet. The club has to decide what they want.
“If Louis van Gaal turns out to be the new coach, I won't go.”
"Tonight everything went in the right direction and we did a very good match. You don't start a match thinking to win 4-0, but at the end i think we deserved it coz we played very well."
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