Football - Liverpool FC: Rafael Benitez not giving up on European qualification but admits his side need a miracle

Nov 5 2009 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez not giving up on European qualification but admits his side need a miracle to get through

Football - Liverpool FC: RAFAEL BENITEZ refused to concede Liverpool’s Champions League chances despite admitting his side need “a miracle” to qualify for the knockout stages.

And the Anfield manager dismissed fears he was fighting for his job after more last-gasp heartbreak against Lyon. A 90th-minute goal from Lisandro equalised a spectacular opener from substitute Ryan Babel seven minutes earlier to hold Liverpool to a 1-1 draw in France last night.

The result means Lyon, who scored a similarly late winner at Anfield a fortnight ago, have now progressed from Group E.

With Fiorentina beating Debrecen 5-2, Liverpool must now beat the Hungarian minnows later this month while hoping Lyon gain a result in Florence.

A Lyon win would mean Benitez’s side could qualify by beating Fiorentina at home in their final group game, but a draw would mean Liverpool having to beat the Italians by three clear goals. A Fiorentina win, though, would eliminate the Anfield outfit. And of last night’s game, Benitez said: “I have to be really disappointed because it was a great opportunity for us. We had some chances, we were there and again a late goal against Lyon has made a massive difference.

“It is difficult for us to get through but it is not impossible. We have to win our first game and see what happens between Fiorentina and Lyon, and approach the last game depending on what has happened. We still have a chance. We have done miracles before and we can do it again.”

Asked if he thought his job was now on the line, Benitez added: “No. I am just thinking about the next game.”

A makeshift Liverpool side were again missing the likes of Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson and Martin Skrtel through injury. And Benitez believes his side were missing a stroke of fortune that could have seen them hold on for a much-needed win. The Spaniard said: “How can I take heart after this? Very simple, by watching the performance of the players and hearing the fans singing after the game. The players know we were improving and getting better.

“Sometimes you need to have luck in football and we didn’t have that in the end. We had more chances and were working hard together. That is the positive from this game for me. We know that if we work as hard as we did today, we will win games.

“We had too many problems before the game so I am quite pleased with the performance of the team. We were quite good. Hopefully for the next game we have Martin Skrtel back and we can manage in a different way.”

Liverpool’s players claimed Michel Bastros was offside in the build-up to Lyon’s equaliser, but Benitez chose to concentrate on his team’s defending.

“I haven’t seen the replay but clearly we made a mistake,” he said. “We had too many players around the ball and we have to do better. We need to be stronger in the challenge. But I don’t think we were naïve with our approach at the end. If you analyse the goal we conceded we were all there.

“We weren’t in bad positions, we just made a mistake. Not because we were too high, we were trying to control the game and in the end we couldn’t.”

Lyon coach Claude Puel reassured Liverpool they would be playing for a victory when they travel to Florence. He said: “Liverpool don’t have to worry. We will play fair, we want to be first in the group. We will go there to try and win. Eventually Liverpool can have the fate in their own hands.”

Of the game, Puel added: “We didn’t start the game well and Liverpool were stronger than us in the first half. We didn’t relax and thanks to our goal-keeper we could keep our heads above water. The players were very brave, they are tired but they are happy we have got through.”

Meanwhile, Philipp Degen yesterday lost his appeal against a three-match suspension following his red card at Fulham on Saturday. He will now miss Liverpool’s games against Birmingham, Manchester City and Everton.