Gerrard plots Milan downfall

By Patrick Hart

'We can beat them'
While Gerrard paid tribute to the Reds' UEFA Champions League final opponents, the England midfielder remains confident of success in Istanbul. "AC Milan are a fantastic team, in my opinion the best in Europe," he told uefa.com. "They have some world-class players offensively and defensively, and it's going to be a really tough game for Liverpool, but we're confident we can beat them."

Favourites' tag
Not that the 24-year-old is heeding any criticism that followed Milan's semi-final win against PSV Eindhoven. He insists the Italian side are deserving favourites to lift the trophy. "I watched both games against PSV and have watched Milan again since. I thought PSV played really well but Milan still went through," he said. "People are talking about how well PSV played, but Milan are in the final. No one can deny that Milan have done fantastically in Europe. They were the favourites before it started and you can see why, they're a great team.

'Match-winners'
"I like all the Milan players," Gerrard continued. "Obviously Kaká, [Andriy] Shevchenko, [Clarence] Seedorf are all match-winners. [Andrea] Pirlo's very clever, [Gennaro] Gattuso has a lot of energy and is aggressive, but they're a fantastic team with a lot of very good individuals."

'Work hard'
Most impressive of all, for Gerrard, is the team ethic behind Carlo Ancelotti's side. "What I like best is their work-rate," he said. "I know they have a lot of star names but once the whistle goes they work hard as a team and I have a lot of respect for the manager."

'You get punished'
He insists Liverpool must be flexible in their approach if they are to overcome the Rossoneri. "You have to see how it starts and take it from there," he said. "If you are too offensive against Milan you get punished at the back; if you are too defensive they are likely to get on top of you.

'Happy medium'
"There are all sorts of scenarios we have worked on," he added. "You'll see on the night how we approach it, but we won't be too defensive or too offensive. We're prepared for a tough game, we're ready, and we'll try to get a happy medium."

Threat of Cissé
Key to that balance could be Djibril Cissé, the French striker who has returned from a double leg break to contest a place in Liverpool's starting lineup. "Cissé's an important player - he's very quick and if he starts the game, or comes on as a sub, his pace will cause Milan problems. He's such a threat going forward. But it's not about individuals," Gerrard stressed. "We have to play well as a team and hopefully get a bit of luck."

Close encounter
Although aware of Milan's own "fantastic forward line" - "Crespo and Shevchenko are big, strong and can both score goals" - Gerrard is anticipating a close encounter and hopes the winner will be decided before the lottery of penalties.

'Penalties no good'
"I don't think there will be many goals," he said. "The two teams are very good defensively so I think it will be very tight. I don't think it will be 3-3 or 2-2, or 3-2. I think it will be very close and one goal either way could decide the final. Hopefully someone will win in normal time - we don't want to see a final won on penalties. That's not good."