Standard showing gives Defour hope
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Article summary
Captain Steven Defour told uefa.com of R. Standard de Liège's frustration after they dominated their first leg against Liverpool FC without getting past Pepe Reina.
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Penalty save
Standard showed no respect for Liverpool's superb recent record in the UEFA Champions League at the sold-out Maurice Dufrasne Stadium, taking the third qualifying round opener to their illustrious opponents from the off. They had already had one effort clawed off the line by Reina before the Spanish international saved a Dante Bonfim penalty with 12 minutes gone. "I'm a bit disappointed as we had some excellent opportunities to score and win the match," Defour said.
Luck needed
"It surprised me a bit, but we played well and Liverpool played less well than expected. We did our best and showed them what Standard are all about," continued the 2007 Belgian Footballer of the Year. "It was a real pity for us that Reina has such an excellent match but maybe we will have better luck [at Anfield] in two weeks. We did everything perfectly, the only thing that is wrong is that we're empty-handed. That's a shame but we cannot complain as it's still a good result."
Gerrard risked
Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez did not want to play England midfielder Steven Gerrard as he was returning from a thigh strain, yet was forced to introduce his captain with 23 minutes remaining in Belgium as Standard had established a firm grip on possession. "That was a compliment in itself to the way we were playing," added Defour. "As Gerrard was injured they normally wouldn't have wanted to risk him but the fact that they did was good for us, although it would have been better if we'd scored."
League campaign
Standard kick off their Belgian Eerste Klasse campaign at FCV Dender EH this weekend and also meet KVC Westerlo before the 27 August trip to Anfield. Defour said of those assignments: "I hope that we can win our domestic matches and be ready for the return. Some might say that we'll pay for those missed chances but after that penalty miss they might have been saying that about the game too. But that didn't happen, we kept going, kept fighting, and that was a big positive. Hopefully we can do the same thing in two weeks."
