Benítez confident of progress

Manager Rafael Benítez rued Liverpool FC’s lack of concentration in the final seconds of Tuesday evening’s UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg but is still confident that his side will reach the quarter-finals. Luis García, John Arne Riise and Dietmar Hamann, with an added-time free-kick, had given Liverpool a 3-0 lead when Jerzy Dudek spilled a shot from Dimitar Berbatov, allowing França to score a last-gasp reply.

Rafael Benítez, Liverpool manager
At the end of the game I was thinking that 2-0 was good: 3-1 was better but 3-0 would have been the best. At the end of the game we should have been concentrating, but all in all Dudek played a good game. I am always positive and it is good to see the team work as hard as they have done today. We know that we can score, and although the next leg will be difficult I have confidence in my team. When you have played a game like this you are more confident. Steven Gerrard [back after suspension for the second leg] is one of the best players in the world but we must have eleven good players on the pitch in the return leg. Harry Kewell played a good game, it is difficult to come back after two months out with injury.

Klaus Augenthaler, Leverkusen coach
Liverpool exerted a lot more pressure in the first half and our aim in the second half was not to concede any more goals. We defended like dummies in a training session for the free-kick. The third goal virtually killed the game off, but our goal gave us a lifeline. We will have a chance but we must get this game out of our system and look forward to the second leg. We consider Steven Gerrard to be the brain and the heart of the team and the return of such a player will bring intrigue to the second leg. But we must not forget that [Igor] Bišcan and [Dietmar] Hamann played a very good game in that position.

Steve Finnan, Liverpool defender
It was a good performance and we needed that after the game against Birmingham [City FC]. It was a difficult game and we would have taken 3-1 before the game. They probably deserved to score if you look at the whole game but it was a bit deflating to concede in the last minute. I think we did the job the manager asked us to do and I think it was a good team performance. You can’t ever say that 3-1 is enough because they can get an early goal and then you never know what will happen.