Source: Eurosport
Rafa Backs Reds' Title Credentials
Rafael Benitez claims his red-hot Liverpool[LNB]side have the belief now to win the title.[LNB]Boss Benitez has seen Liverpool produce three sensational victories in 12 days, scoring four each against Real Madrid and Manchester United[LNB]and five against Aston Villa[LNB].[LNB]It puts Liverpool one point behind United at the top - although the champions still have a game in hand.[LNB]But a goal difference margin of 11 a few weeks ago, considered then to be worth another point, has been wiped out and overtaken by Liverpool's goal blitz.[LNB]And Liverpool will be top before Manchester United play their next game if they win at Fulham[LNB]on April 4, 24 hours before United face Villa at Old Trafford.[LNB]Benitez said: "There is a sense of real belief now. When you are playing well and scoring a lot of goals against top sides you will have the belief that you can beat anyone.[LNB]"Bur we must be calm, win the next game, get the points and keep going until the end. Otherwise everything will be wasted.[LNB]"Clearly we have confidence and the team is playing well. But we must just wait to see what happens next to United, while we must keep going and keep the team playing at this level."[LNB]Skipper Steven Gerrard[LNB]struck a set-piece hat-trick against Villa - taking his season total to 21 in 38 games - and he said: "We were always conscious of the goal difference and wiping out Manchester United's lead.[LNB]"Now we must keep winning, keep on their shoulder and keep piling on the pressure. We must show we are ready to pounce on any mistakes they make."[LNB]Full-back Alvaro Arbeloa believes that Liverpool's blistering start to matches is now becoming decisive.[LNB]He said: "We had a really good start to the Villa game, and that kind of first-half display is the key to improving our home form.[LNB]"If we can start really well at Anfield it can be important because an early goal can open up a tight match. You saw what it was like against Real Madrid in the Champions League and they could not cope with us, so I think we have to do the same in all of our home matches."[LNB]He added: "We are closer to the top but it is best to just focus on how well we are playing. We have a lot of confidence now and I think we are performing at our best level. "We have to keep going, build on the momentum of the past week or so and make sure we fight right up until the end of the season."[LNB]And the Spain international was quick to praise Gerrard's contribution, saying: "He was excellent and he deserves all the credit he gets because he is a key player for us and performs like a true captain.[LNB]"He is having an amazing season, and he deserves to be considered the best there is."[LNB]Liverpool must now wait for a fortnight to continue their pursuit of Manchester United, with an international break to be negotiated first.[LNB]Benitez said: "We need to wait now for United to make mistakes. We are closer but they are in a very good position. We must keep going and keep pushing them.[LNB]"They will see we are working hard for every game, so my message is to keep doing our job.[LNB]"When you are playing well, the players have more confidence. Sometimes you do not need to change things, we have more or less the same players and system.[LNB]"But it is now one game a week. Torres[LNB]is fit, Gerrard is fit, Aurelio is fit so it is easier to keep the same players on the pitch.[LNB]"We may have (injury)problems caused by the international break, but we have Agger back from injury and Yossi Benayoun[LNB]almost fit. That gives us more choice but we will need all of our players now.[LNB]"You cannot keep thinking if United will make two or three mistakes, you just have to keep winning and see what happens because you cannot have any influence on their results."[LNB]He added: "Manchester United's next game is at home to Aston Villa, and Villa have won ten away games in the league this season. Maybe they will make things difficult for United.[LNB]"Maybe people will now think (after we won there) that they can now do well at United. But more importantly, everyone knows now that we can beat anyone, so we must keep playing with this level of confidence.[LNB]"Me cracking up? All I can say is that I was calm before and I am still calm now."[LNB]More news from SportingLife.com[LNB] Email[LNB] Share[LNB] Delicious[LNB] Digg[LNB] Facebook[LNB] Stumbleupon[LNB] Reddit[LNB] Newsvine[LNB] document.getElementById("ynw-universal-sharing").innerHTML += "Print[LNB]"; Comment 1 - 3 of 3Sort comments by:Most recentUnited seems to have this strange luck happening. They get an easier schedule in the champion’s league and even in the FA cup, they avoid Arsenal or Chelsea. Everton may still give them a run but Arsenal and Chelsea would have been tougher.They lose 2 games in a row and then there is a break!!The break certainly helps United but with key suspensions of Rooney, Vidic & Scholes it won't be easy against Villa. Hopefully the Reds will come back with the same form after the break. The break scares me. All the recent breaks have come at a bad time and have affected the Reds form. Hopefully this time around, no new injuries and the Reds will stay sharp.One game at a time. Fulham will be tough but at the current Red's form, it will be a Reds win. Go Reds.[LNB]From Gidy G, on Mon 23 Mar 7:00PM0 [LNB] 0 [LNB] Report abuse[LNB]Man Utd are in bad form, and the international break is nothing positive as they will have plenty of time to feel even more pressure and depressing reviews ... added to a highly depleted side with a fuming aggressive manager .... I can see John Carew netting 1 or 2 at OT .. Villa have hit the bottom and Oneill will certainly straighten things up ....and he's got plenty of time to pick himself up and do it.[LNB]From vipidz, on Mon 23 Mar 5:31PM0 [LNB] 0 [LNB] Report abuse[LNB]Thanks manager and lets take each game as it comes.Play each as a final.Win each and forget the past[LNB]From micpando, on Mon 23 Mar 4:26PM3 [LNB] 0 [LNB] Report abuse[LNB]Sort comments by:Most recent Comment on this article Please login to post a comment Log In [LNB][LNB] Not already a Yahoo! user ? Sign up[LNB]to get a free Yahoo! 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