Defiant Jamie Carragher has called on Liverpool to rediscover the spirit of 2005 to haul themselves out of a deep Champions League hole.
The tough defender has been part of a Liverpool side who have lost key group matches to Marseille and now Besiktas, with just the point gained in Porto to their name this term.
For the five-time European Cup winners, who pride themselves on their foreign achievements, Liverpool are rushing head-long towards the sort of disaster that defines and wrecks careers.
After the horror of Istanbul that leaves them bottom of Champions League Group A and facing 'relegation' to the UEFA Cup - or even being dumped out of Europe completely - the beaten finalists of six months ago are facing humiliation.
The 2-1 defeat by Besiktas, in the city that staged Liverpool's greatest triumph in modern times two years ago when they claimed a fifth European Cup, has left boss Rafael Benitez and his squad stunned.
They are facing an exit from Europe's elite competition just as Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea are all confidently marching on towards the knockout stages and the last 16.
Liverpool had 28 attempts on goal against Besiktas, but only after Steven Gerrard's late header did they look capable of a salvage operation.
Now Carragher says: "I do not accept that there was much wrong with our performance in Istanbul, we were just unlucky in their penalty box. We feel we did not get what we deserved. But look back to 2005 and the group stages. We did not do particularly well then, but ended up winning it. Now we must show that sort of spirit. We went to the last group game then and got ourselves out of it. So it looks like we are going to have to do the same again."
Back in 2005, Liverpool managed to lose two group games against Monaco and Olympiakos and claim a scrappy drawn with Deportivo la Coruna.
All seemed lost ahead of the final home game with Olympiacos, but a dramatic fightback with goals from Florent Sinama-Pongolle, Neil Mellor and Gerrard produced an historic comeback.
They ended up winning the trophy that season, and now Carragher accepts that it will take that level of heroics to see Liverpool through this crisis.
He said: "We are not thinking about the UEFA Cup, we are still going for it in the Champions League. Win three games and we are through. You want to stay in the Champions League because it is a bigger trophy, but we have got great memories of the UEFA Cup and if we end up there we will try to win that instead. We cannot be too disappointed, we played the right way and dominated in Istanbul."
Liverpool now have the return with Besiktas in a fortnight, followed by Porto at Anfield and the potential for last-night heroics in Marseille in their last group game in December.
Carragher said: "We did it once before and we can do it again. It could well go right to the wire of that last game in Marseille. I am not down one bit, we must go into the Arsenal game in the league on Sunday with confidence because the only thing wrong in Istanbul was our finishing."
There has been plenty of criticism of Liverpool's display in Turkey, with claims they lacked direction, team spirit and drive.
But Carragher said: "It was a disappointing result, I felt the lads showed great commitment and we are proud of the way we played. We have three games left and we have to go for it. We deserved more, we had so many shots on goal. Conceding that first goal just made things more difficult. We kept going, but to have 28 attempts away from home in the Champions League showed how well we played. But it is another bad result in Europe, we can't hide from that. What it does is put more pressure on us for the final three games. We have nothing to lose now, we just have to go for it."
He added: "We must only look to beating Besiktas next, then go from there. It might take three more wins and probably will, but we have a team here capable of going anywhere in Europe and winning. We must make sure we are still in with a chance when we go to Marseille in the last match."
Boss Benitez, who might soon have to answer some tough questions from the club's American owners, said: "We had three chances before they scored. We kept attacking even after they scored. Our possession and shots were very high, and we created so much. It was our poor accuracy and their good keeper. It was as simple as that. The atmosphere was outstanding, but we should have had the quality to overcome that. Now we have two games at Anfield where our support will be just as powerful. We must stay calm, not get too worried about losing one or two matches. But in Europe you cannot make mistakes, and we needed to score the first goal."
25 October 2007
Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster singled out Robinho after his two goals sealed a 4-2 win over Olympiakos.
The Brazil ace missed the Primera Liga defeat at Villarreal at the weekend as he had returned late from international duty, but he was back in the starting line-up on Wednesday night and was instrumental as Real came from behind to take control of Group C.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, Olympiakos were close to a famous win at the Bernabeu as they led 2-1 with just over 20 minutes left.
However, Robinho showed his class with two goals and an assist, while he also won a late penalty that Ruud van Nistelrooy blasted into the stands.
Schuster was full of praise for the diminutive play-maker, saying: "He's a player who knows how to win games."
23 October 2007
Fabio Cannavaro and Mahamadou Diarra will not be ready in time to play for Real Madrid against Olympiacos and have been left out of Bernd Schuster's squad.
Both players have been suffering from knee injuries and have not trained in the build-up to the Champions League encounter in Athens on Wednesday night.
While Diarra is still battling back from his problem, Cannavaro has been left out after being advised by doctor's that playing could see the injury worsen as he was hoping to risk playing.
Following the withdrawals, Sergio Ramos is set to move into the middle alongside Christoph Metzelder with Michel Salgado taking over on the right side of the back four.
According to reports, Fernando Gago is Schuster's preferred option to start in Diarra's place in midfield.
Madrid were already without Gabriel Heinze, Arjen Robben and Pepe, who all have muscle injuries.
Fabio Cannavaro praised Lazio for their performance, but admits 'lazy' Real Madrid have much to learn about team spirit and defending as a unit.
'Lazio played a great game and we didn't do too well, as we should not have left so much space and were lucky they didn't make the most of that,' he said after the 2-2 draw at the Olimpico.
'I have been playing in Spain for a year and there are differences. You defend less as a unit and more as individuals, so you get a lot of one-against-one or even two-against-one. This is their mentality and that is tough to change, even though we tried last season.'
Fabio Capello won the Liga title with Real, but was fired because his style of play was not considered to be entertaining enough.
Cannavaro was one of the few imports requested by Capello that remained at the club and he revealed the difficulties he has to deal with in Madrid.
'I always tell them to help out the defence, as the important thing in a team is balance and everyone fighting together,' he told Sky Italia television.
'I can't ask Ruud van Nistelrooy and Raul to work in defence, but I can tell them to adjust their position slightly during the difficult times when we are under pressure. When you are on the field with attacking midfielders like Wesley Sneijder, Guti and Arjen Robben, they get lazy and focus more on the attack rather than coming back to help out. We do discuss these things.'
Gabriel Heinze was used as Cannavaro's central defensive partner in that Champions League encounter.
'We have had injuries to Pepe and Metzelder, while we needed a bit more attacking flair down the right with Sergio Ramos, so Heinze was chosen to partner me in the centre. We have a large squad and the Coach likes to change regularly so everyone gets a rest.'
Real Madrid now share top spot in Group C with Olympiacos, who won 3-1 away to Werder Bremen, on four points. Lazio have two points, Werder are yet to get off the mark.
04 October 2007
A jubilant Lomana LuaLua admitted feeling "proud to be a part of history" after he and his Olympiacos CFP team-mates lifted their UEFA Champions League away-day curse at Werder Bremen on Wednesday.
The Greek champions had gone a remarkable 31 games in the competition without a win away from their Piraeus base, and they would have been forgiven for fearing the worst when Hugo Almeida gave Bremen a deserved lead with just over half an hour gone.
Instead, they stepped up their efforts after the break and completed a remarkable 3-1 triumph, with Ieroklis Stoltidis, Christos Patsatzoglou and Darko Kovačević rattling in a goal apiece in the last 17 minutes.
"That's what I love about this side," explained LuaLua, a summer signing from Portsmouth FC.
"There's great team spirit here. We never let our heads drop when we went behind and we kept believing. We're a new team in that there's a lot of players still getting to know each other, but we all know what this result means. The atmosphere was great in the changing room after the whistle and people have been telling me how long this record lasted. We've made history and I'm really proud to be a part of it."
Already familiar with the competition from his spell at Newcastle United FC, the DR Congo forward had a goal disallowed and constantly harried Bremen's back line in the second half.
"We decided we needed to press them more after half-time," he said. "That's what made the difference. We pushed up and didn't give them any time on the ball. Plus, we heard our supporters screaming in the stands and that made us give 120 per cent. When you think about how far they've travelled despite our record away from home, we couldn't let them down."
Next up for the Group C leaders is a trip to Real Madrid CF on 24 October, and their 26-year-old marksman would love nothing more than to make it two away victories out of two.
"That's a match I'm really looking forward to," he grinned. "One of the reasons I came to Olympiacos was games like that. You always want to face teams like Real Madrid because they're one of the best sides in the world, but we really believe we can beat anyone. We've already shown we can win away from home so why not?"
