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On Tuesday, Liverpool's captain Steven Gerrard once again saved the second leg match of the UEFA Champions League qualifying round against the Lithuanian champions FBK "Kaunas", and after the match, English team manager Rafael Benitez made a statement.
In yesterday's match, S. Gerrard appeared in the 74th minute after a substitution and a few minutes later, he put the hosts ahead, who until then had struggled to break through the Kaunas defense, and later, also after a substitution, D. Cisse doubled the score and allowed Liverpool to celebrate victory with a total result of 5-1.
In the third qualifying round - the last stage before the UEFA Champions League group stage - Liverpool players will face the winners of the pair between Bulgarian champions Sofia's "CSKA" and Albanian champions "SK Tirana".
Yesterday's goal by S. Gerrard against "Kaunas", defended by the young S. Kilijonas, was already his seventh in four qualifying matches.
"I keep saying that he (S. Gerrard) is a very important player for us and that's true," said R. Benitez after the match. "We felt like we needed to change something, show our fans, so we put him on the field."
"He scored a goal, and we hope he will score many more this season," continued the Spaniard.
The former Valencia manager did not hesitate to praise the newcomer, Mohamed Sissoko, who came specifically from R. Benitez's former club: "To me, Momo (nickname for M. Sissoko) was one of the best players in the match. He fought fiercely, won battles, and did everything quite simply, so I am very pleased with him."
In the match, the author of the second goal after substitution was Djibril Cisse since the duo of the newcomers Peter Crouch and Fernando Morientes looked completely ineffective. The goal scored by D. Cisse on Tuesday was already his third this season, another proof that the striker has fully recovered from a leg fracture injury last season.
"A striker needs to score a goal to give him confidence in his abilities," Benitez said about D. Cisse and added about the Crouch-Morientes duo. "We have many attacking players, and they will have to work hard to maintain their place in the starting lineup."
Summing up the match, R. Benitez said: "In the end, 2-0 is a good result. This year we have a better team (than last year).
Benitez could not comment on how long Peter Crouch will be out due to a Achilles tendon injury he suffered in yesterday's match.
