Rafael Benitez will tell his players to take inspiration from Liverpool's 2005 Champions League semi-final triumph over Chelsea as they bid for a place in this season's final.Chelsea travel to Merseyside defending a one-goal lead from the first leg but Benitez is brimming with optimism and confident the outcome can be the same as it was two years ago when Luis Garcia’s goal sent the Reds to Istanbul. Anfield is expected to be a cauldron of noise yet again for the latest visit of Jose Mourinho's men and the Spaniard believes the fans will have another big part to play. "We didn't play well in the first game, but we lost only 1-0 which means there is not a lot of difference between the teams," he said ahead of the eagerly anticipated second leg tie. "If you can play below your level and only lose by a goal, it means if you raise your level you must have a really good chance. "We can use the memories of two years ago to our advantage because we know what the players and fans can do working together. "I remember before the game in 2005 the Chelsea players spoke a lot about being ready for the Anfield atmosphere, but when the game was played they could not handle it. It's very difficult for any opposing team to prepare to play against 12 men. "The players can also use these positive memories. We will go into the game with a lot of confidence, but we know Chelsea are a very good team and we cannot afford to make mistakes." Despite trailing on aggregate Benitez is of the opinion that the pressure is all on Chelsea and added: "They are a team which has been built with a lot of money to win major trophies. "They spent a lot of money on Shevchenko and Ballack last year because their priority is the Champions League. Now they have more difficulties in the Premiership, it's clear if they're going to win a major trophy this is the one they want to win." Benitez has refused to become embroiled in a war of words with his opposite number but responded to Mourinho's most recent jibes by commenting: "I'm not interested in pinning newspaper articles on the walls of the dressing room. "I'm not the kind of manager who uses this tactic because the players themselves know what to do. If an opponent makes a really big mistake with comments he makes, maybe it's different, but in this case the players have all the motivation they need to give a good performance."
By:Mark Platt
Date:30 April 2007
Credit:www.liverpoolfc.tv
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