Wednesday 11 April 2007

Benitez warns against complacency as Liverpool face PSV

By Jeremy ButlerLIVERPOOL, England, April 11 - Liverpool managerRafael Benitez has urged his side not to be complacent when theyface PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League quarter-final atAnfield on Wednesday holding a 3-0 lead.Wednesday's other quarter-final is far more evenly balancedwith Bayern Munich hosting AC Milan after the teams finishedlast week's first leg 2-2 in Italy.The winners of that tie will face Manchester United, 8-3aggregate conquerors of AS Roma on Tuesday, in one semi whileChelsea, who beat Valencia 3-2 on aggregate, seem set for asecond semi in three seasons against Liverpool.Liverpool won that semi-final 1-0 on aggregate before goingon to beat AC Milan in the final and Benitez has called on hisplayers to remember that victory in Istanbul 2005 when they camefrom three goals down at halftime before winning the final onpenalties."It is a strange situation and I would like to be in thisposition all the time," Benitez told a news conference."It is not normal and the players understand how importantit will be not to be complacent. We have to be really focusedand not over-confident."We have experience of being three goals behind and winningfrom our victory in the Champions League final and we mustconcentrate."Liverpool's hopes of winning the Champions League again havebeen built this season on the consistent form of 22-year-oldDaniel Agger.The Danish international has taken over from Sami Hyypia inthe heart of the Liverpool defence and produced some matureperformances."Before we signed Daniel Agger we asked people about him andeveryone said he had a good character," Benitez added."We knew his ability as a player and I am not surprised hehas taken over from Sami so soon."INJURY WORRIESIn Munich, Bayern have mounting injury problems but areconvinced they can finish the job against AC Milan and book aplace in the semi-finals for the first time since 2001.Bayern centre-back Daniel van Buyten struck an injury-timeequaliser, his second goal of the night, to clinch a 2-2 draw inthe first leg in Milan. That result gives the Germans a slightedge heading into the return.Martin Demichelis is struggling with a pulled calf muscle,Bastian Schweinsteiger strained his left knee at the weekend andOwen Hargreaves, Lucio and Hasan Salihamidzic are also trying toshake off injuries.Willy Sagnol is definitely out after suffering a seriousknee injury in the first leg but the news is not all bad.Midfielder Mark van Bommel and captain and goalkeeper OliverKahn are available again after suspension and Bayern come intothe game after a 2-1 win at Hanover 96 that kept them in theBundesliga title hunt.Bayern were beaten by Milan 5-2 on aggregate in the firstknockout round last season but with Ottmar Hitzfeld now back incharge they look a lot more resilient.Milan's morale was lifted on Saturday when they beat Empoli3-1 to close to within a point of Serie A's fourth and finalChampions League berth.The outward confidence, however, masks anxieties over thestate of their attack.Alberto Gilardino's suspension means Filippo Inzaghi couldstart as a lone striker, though the 33-year-old has beenstruggling to shake off a hamstring injury.Milan's away form in Europe this season has also been farfrom impressive, with their sole win against Anderlecht beingoffset by scoreless draws against Lille and Celtic, and a 1-0defeat to AEK Athens.

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