Source: SKY_Sports
Rafa wants Reds reponse
Rafa Benitez has called on his Liverpool side to show their mettle when they head to Chelsea on Sunday.
The Reds have been in awesome form in the Premier League of late, but suffered a disappointing setback in their UEFA Champions League endeavours in midweek.
A 2-0 defeat away at Fiorentina has drawn plenty of criticism, although the Reds have been the first to admit that they were well off the pace in Italy.
They have an ideal opportunity to bounce back this weekend, though, when they travel to Stamford Bridge to take on potential title rivals Chelsea.
Benitez insists he has been pleased with how things have gone in training this week, but admits he will not know how his players will respond until they take to the field.
"The reaction of the team has been positive, and we have looked at all aspects of what went wrong," said the Spaniard.
"We have worked in training to try to correct those mistakes. The staff have analysed everything, we looked at everyone.
"But we had too many players not doing well (against Fiorentina). It was not just one or two players but everyone.
Approach
"We cannot go into the Chelsea game playing like that. If you look at both sides, normally we each have around 25 chances a game. But if we allow Chelsea to have that many, we will lose.
"We must improve in defence, and we must play to our strengths and keep attacking and creating chances."
He added: "The comparison between the two halves in Florence was that in the first period we had one chance and they had nine, but after the break we had 13 and they had just one.
"This could be a chance to change things. The players must not go into a game believing everything will be okay.
"The attitude of the players, their approach, has to be spot on. Top sides always think they will win and are confident. Chelsea will be like that so we must match that with the right mentality.
"If we have to change something, we will. So I expect even top players to work very hard.
"This game is important. If we win then people will be saying we can win the league. If we don't they will say we have no chance."
