Energised Rafa hopes his Reds have the power in Europe

13 April 2012

Rafael Benitez is hoping Liverpool don't go flat in Europe tonight after their high-powered performance claimed a landmark victory over Manchester United.

Liverpool meet Marseille in France buoyed by Saturday's 2-1 win, the Spaniard's first over Alex Ferguson's side.

That display earned many plaudits, with Marseille boss Erik Gerets describing the Reds as "Duracell bunnies" — an analogy which initially mystified his Liverpool counterpart.

Once Benitez had the famous battery advert explained to him he accepted the praise but then pointed out that his side, who have struggled for consistency during his tenure, must build on that result.

"It is nice that we have made such an impact," he said. "As far as battery-powered, I suppose they are talking of Javier Mascherano. But as far as making an impression, I am only concerned about the impact it has on us and our confidence.

"Too many people want to talk too early about titles and other things. We did well against United but we must be focused on the next game, and that is Marseille. We must not allow ourselves to get carried away."

Ryan Babel, who came off the bench to score the winner at Anfield, agrees with his boss.

"It is normal when you win games of that importance that you gain a lot of confidence," said the winger. "It means you look forward to your next game. We have started the season well, we have seen the squad improved with new signings and I believe we can look forward to winning many more games.

"Liverpool had not beaten United for a few years, so it was an important victory. We must build on that win."

The Reds are without full-back Fabio Aurelio for the Group D Champions League game due to a calf injury suffered on Saturday.

Mascherano is expected to have recovered from a knee injury, while both Steven Gerrard (groin) and Fernando Torres (hamstring) are fit to start having been on the bench against United.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in