Source: Liverpool_Echo
Glen Johnson calls for Liverpool FC to turn on flair in Europa League showdown against Lille
IF Liverpool supporters are puzzled by their team's ability to look awesome one minute but awful the next, take note: those feelings are shared in the dressing room, too.[LNB]Should Rafa Benitez's men turn up tonight in the same rampant spirits that saw them blow Portsmouth away on Monday, there is little doubt they will overturn a first leg deficit, flatten Lille and move comfortably through to the Europa League's last eight.[LNB]Yet, with Liverpool, it is never really safe to make predictions, particularly this season; results, after all, have shown they are as likely to flounder, as they are to flourish and it would take a brave man to confidently predict their European adventure will continue.[LNB]Anfield's history, of course, is synonymous with baying, swaying nights against continental opposition and enough stories have emerged from comebacks staged in the face of adversity to fill the pages of this paper twice over.[LNB]This season, though, the four games Liverpool have played at home in Europe have been exceptionally low key; Debrecen was flat, Lyon disastrous, Fiorentina a waste of time, while Unirea Urziceni's visit was instantly forgettable.[LNB]The arrival of Lille, however, provides a platform to change that; the French side might be competent and they showed flashes of quality seven days ago but you would have to say the Liverpool that demolished Portsmouth will take care of them.[LNB]But there is the question: will Benitez see the 11 men he selects this evening grasp the initiative and play as a team or will they resemble a hotchpotch of 11 individuals a la Wigan Athletic, Portsmouth (away) or Wolverhampton Wanderers?[LNB]Glen Johnson, for one, is quietly confident it will be a case of the former scenario unfolding but he knows people will continue to exercise caution with Liverpool until they achieve the one word that has missing from descriptions of them all year - consistency.[LNB]'We played well against Portsmouth, showed we had confidence and managed to express ourselves by getting a few goals in the first half,' said the England right-back.[LNB]'The game plan was the same as the one Rafa always sticks to.[LNB]'But the lads just felt a bit more confident and went out there and expressed ourselves. We've got to find that consistency. Even the lads who played at Wigan were scratching their heads at the performance.[LNB]'It's part of football; one week you might be great, the next you might not. But now we know have to play like (against Portsmouth) every week. If we can, it will be great. It will be tough against Lille, we know they are a good team but it's up to us now.'
