Source: Liverpool_Echo
Rafa Benitez: Liverpool FC have come a long way in five years
LIVERPOOL have come a long way since Rafa Benitez last took his side to White Hart Lane on the opening day of the Premier League season.
August 14 2004 was the Spaniard's first competitive domestic assignment in the Anfield hot-seat but he headed to the capital with Gerard Houllier's team.
Josemi and Djibril Cisse were the only new faces but even the later had been bought by Houllier before he got the bullet.
Cisse's first half strike was cancelled out by Jermain Defoe in a 1-1 draw but early promise failed to blossom as four league defeats by early October dashed any hopes of a title challenge.
Of course European glory ultimately made it a season to remember but in the league the Reds finished a distant fifth - losing 14 games and securing a haul of just 58 points.
Fast forward five years and only skipper Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher remain.
Slowly but surely, Benitez has compiled a squad capable of challenging for the Premier League crown.
With third, third, fourth and second placed finishes, Liverpool have closed the gap and now the challenge is to take the hardest step of all.
'I remember that first game very clearly and a lot has changed since then,' Benitez admitted.
'Clearly the club has been going in the right direction.
'You can see the value of the squad we had back then compared to the value of the squad we have now.
'Now we have more players with quality and experience. But we also have exciting young players who are improving all the time.'
