Wednesday Mar 12 2008 08:02
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez hailed the strength of the Premier League after the Reds became the fourth English club to reach the Champions League quarter-finals this season.
Benitez's side won 1-0 in the San Siro against ten-man Internazionale to complete a 3-0 aggregate triumph and join Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea in the last eight.
Afterwards, the Spaniard said: "This victory shows the power and strength of the Premier League.
"We have fine clubs who are among the best in Europe and players of quality who are some of the best in Europe.
"This is the third time we have got to this stage while I have been at Anfield. The first season nobody talked of us winning the Champions League, but we did it.
"Now we have a much better squad and experience and I have great confidence in my team to play in big games.
"It was a difficult game because Inter are a strong team, but in the end the result of the first leg proved to be decisive.
"It is always useful to play a man extra. They had to win and with a man down that made it even more difficult for them.
"The key for us was to be compact in the first half when they were attacking and to be sure that we hit them on the counter-attack."
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