Liverpool boss Benitez piles pressure on Aquilani to deliver on his first start

08 December 2009 23:29
All eyes will be on Alberto Aquilani as he makes his long-awaited first Liverpool start at Anfield tonight, but one pair may just be following his progress more keenly than most. [LNB]The £20million summer signing has been kept waiting four months for his first Liverpool start, but his second could follow in just four days, if he makes the right impression on manager Rafa Benitez in his side's Champions League farewell against Fiorentina. [LNB]Given the intrigue that has built up since his much-heralded arrival from Roma in the summer, it might have been felt that the Italy midfielder was already under enough pressure. [LNB] Waiting over: Injury-plagued Aquilani will make his long-awaited first start at Anfield tonight[LNB] Rafa Benitez defends handling of Aquilani as £20m man finally wins startGerrard blasts Liverpool's botched title bid but insists he will fight to the endReina pledges future to Liverpool as ace insists: I can't imagine ever quittingLucas happy to make way as £20m man Aquilani is set to start for Liverpool But that didn't deter Benitez from adding to it by revealing that hewill study his form, in Liverpool's final Group E game, before decidingwhether to retain him for Sunday's crucial Barclays Premier Leaguemeeting with Arsenal. [LNB]Liverpool can ill-afford another Premier League defeat, if they areto stay in contention for fourth place, but Benitez made it clear hewould have no qualms about pairing Aquilani with Javier Mascherano,behind a more advanced Steven Gerrard, should he answer the one doubtover his physical condition.[LNB] 'I can understand the fans' frustration at having to wait so longto see him because all the staff and I have been just as frustrated,'said the Liverpool manager.[LNB] 'But, when a player has been out four months, you have to be careful about choosing the right game for his comeback. [LNB]'We should all be proud of the pace and physical strength of Englishfootball but it presents its own problems. For someone like Alberto,who has spent most of the past four months in the gym or swimming pool,it would not be right to expect him to cope with Everton or Blackburnfor his first game.[LNB] 'This is the right opportunity for him and he comes into the gamewith everything except his match fitness looking exactly right. Intraining yesterday, he scored an exceptional goal, chipping the ballpast Pepe Reina and into the top corner with his left foot, and histouch was outstanding.[LNB] 'He showed signs of real quality and, though I feel his tacklingstill needs to improve, I think the fans will see a clever, intelligentplayer who gets into good positions. [LNB]'We are all waiting to see what he can do on the pitch and it couldbe a chance to press his claims for the Arsenal game. Clearly we needto assess his fitness afterwards but it is really positive that we willsee him out on the pitch at last.' [LNB]While Aquilani will start alongside Mascherano, Benitez provided aninsight into how he intends to manage injuries to his two key playersby revealing that Gerrard will almost certainly continue in hisattacking midfield role but Fernando Torres will have to settle for aplace on the bench.[LNB] King of Spain: Torres will have to settle for a place on the bench against Fiorentina[LNB] 'When you are dealing with injured players it depends on the individual,' he said. [LNB]'Stevie needs to play to improve his match fitness, so that is anoption we could take. With Torres, it is important to step up hisfitness levels little by little after four weeks out so, if everythinggoes all right, we will use him in the second half.' [LNB]Torres' continuing absence means another start for David Ngog, whodenied diving to gain a penalty against Birmingham but did little toalter public misgivings over his antics by admitting that his boyhoodidol was Thierry Henry. [LNB]Ngog insisted he was harshly judged after hurdling a challenge from Lee Carsley and falling. [LNB]Carsley labelled him an 'embarrassment' and a 'cheat', but Ngog hitback, saying: 'I thought the criticism was unfair, because I am notthat kind of player. I saw the challenge coming in and just tried tojump out of the way, to make sure it did not catch me. I wasn'tthinking about trying to win a penalty. Incidents like that happen soquickly, and there wasn't much I could do.[LNB] 'I wasn't aware of what Carsley said, and I am not going to letthat bother me. Rafa had a word with me afterwards, but all he said wasto keep focused on my game and not let any criticism get to me. Iwon't, either, because I have a strong mentality.' [LNB]Benitez will give Diego Cavalieri a rare outing in goal and is expectedto hand Andrea Dossena an equally rare start at left-back, presumablyin the hope of attracting possible Italian suitors in the Januarytransfer window.[LNB] Rafa Benitez defends handling of Aquilani as £20m man finally wins startGerrard blasts Liverpool's botched title bid but insists he will fight to the endReina pledges future to Liverpool as ace insists: I can't imagine ever quittingLucas happy to make way as £20m man Aquilani is set to start for Liverpool[LNB] [LNB] Explore more:People:Rafa Benitez, David Ngog, Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, FERNANDO TORRES, Thierry HenryPlaces:Liverpool, Italy, Spain

Source: Daily_Mail