- Title: UNITED KINGDOM: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Dalglish targets a win over Braga
- Date: 17th March 2011
- Summary: PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (FILE FEBRUARY 2011) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) LIVERPOOL PLAYERS TRAINING
- Embargoed: 31st March 2011 21:45
- Keywords:
- Location: United Kingdom
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Sport
- Reuters ID: LVABWH0LCXP75NB5JJV8ZPW7GEAT
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Manager Kenny Dalglish said on Wednesday (March 16) that Liverpool must concentrate on beating Braga in their Europa League tie and not look too far ahead in their bid for European qualification next season.
The five times European champions will probably have to finish fifth in the English Premier League or win the Europa League to play in European competition next season.
Liverpool trail 1-0 from the first-leg in Portugal and Dalglish insisted that the Reds must focus on beating Braga and maintain that form for the rest of the season.
"We can only deal with this game can't we? For us we want to be playing at the highest level we possibly can, to do that we have to win matches, starting with the game tomorrow night," Dalglish said.
"We know we've got to win by two goals to maintain our European status this year. We can't think too far ahead, every game for us is really important as we said before.
"Every game that we play we want to get as much as we possibly can from. That starts tomorrow night and continues until the end of the season. Where we get to after that will only be determined by how well we do. European football and this football club are synonymous and we'd love to continue to do that."
Despite the added pressure that fighting for European qualification brings, Dalglish said that Liverpool would approach the game as they would any other.
"The state of the game tomorrow won't influence how we go about the game, how we approach the game. We will approach the game as professionally, as determined as we would have done irrespective of what the score was," he said.
"I don't think they were too offensive at home so I would expect Braga to be very much the same as what they were in the first leg, that seems to be their style of play home or away.
"I think on the night they were probably just a bit better than us but we were very disappointed in the way we played. For us we'd like to think that we can play a lot better than what we did play and if we do then it's up to Braga to step up to the plate and lift their game, and if they don't then they could be in a bit of trouble."
Liverpool are sixth in the domestic table, six points behind fifth place Tottenham Hotspur. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None