Thursday, August 16, 2007

Benitez Says Toulouse Demand Respect

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has said that Toulouse must be treated with respect ahead of the their Champions League clash this afternoon.

The Reds are overwhelming favourites to emerge victorious over the two legs of the third qualifying round to take their place in the group stage come September.

But Toulouse, who beat French champions Lyon 1-0 at the weekend, must be treated with respect says Benitez.

"They have a good team and it will be a difficult game. Sometimes when you are a top side and the opposition is not big, people think it's easy, but you have to have respect," he told Liverpool’s official website.

"We have some scouts in France and we've watched videos. We have a lot of respect for Toulouse because they have some very good players and a lot of quality.

"We are also more under pressure than them, that's normal."

Liverpool are faced with two vital games in less than a week, tonight’s CL encounter and then a Premiership behemoth of a match against Chelsea on Sunday, and the Reds gaffer admits selection for tonight’s game might be made with Sunday in mind.

"All the players will be ready but I need to analyse the situation and see how many changes to make.

"Our priority tonight will be the Champions League, our priority on Sunday will be the Premier league.

"We always approach these kinds of games the same way - to try and win and score. If we can do something in the first leg, great, but if not we know Anfield is a very good place for us," said the Spaniard

The omnipresent selection debate refuses to die down, at the weekend Peter Crouch was given the cold shoulder, this week it’s Jermaine Pennant who is left at home, but Benitez is flippant about his selection quandary.

Benitez explained that decision: "You know we have a problem because in England you can use just 16 players, and in Europe just 18. Thanks to the new situation, we have a lot of good players and I needed to decide.

"I was trying to talk to the FA, the Premier League, UEFA and FIFA – I asked them if I could use 12 players in a game, but they said it's not possible!" he jested. "It's football, not rugby, so you can only play with 11.

"I will prepare the same speech for all the players. They have to be professional and be ready when they are needed."

taken from goal.com

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