Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard wants his team-mates to answer the calls from the Kop and "attack, attack, attack!" against Chelsea today at Anfield. Gerrard says: "I think we could do with being a little more adventurous in certain areas
and push on that little bit more, while a bit of luck also wouldn’t go
amiss. If decisions had gone our way on Wednesday we’d have won so there’s no
reason to believe we can’t win on Sunday."
Gerrard came close to becoming team-mates with Lampard, known by many at Anfield as "Fat Frank". Chants from the Kop claiming that Lampard is overweight were all part of the fun on Wednesday night, and although they were unlikely to bother Lampard, Gerrard knows that his team can rile Chelsea in other ways: "We know we can get at Chelsea and that we can beat them."
Chelsea attempts at upsetting Liverpool have mainly been focussed on pretending the game today doesn’t matter. Mourinho claims Liverpool can’t afford a draw, Gallas claims winning the Premiership is a formality. Gerrard doesn’t buy into this: "I
know what Jose Mourinho has been saying about this being a ‘must-win’ game
for us and that we’ll be out of the title race if we don’t. A defeat would certainly make life more difficult for us but it’s too
early in the season for that kind of talk."
Liverpool do need to start turning draws into wins, but with 33 games still to play for Liverpool Gerrard knows that time is still there to improve. Gerrard says they always want maximum points at home: "It is a hugely important game, that’s for sure, but every time we play at
home is a must-win for Liverpool. Three points are a necessity for us
whoever we are playing and we’ll be approaching it like we do any other.
Chelsea have managed to win every league game this season, although in some games they’ve far from dominated. Their undoubted skill and ability has been helped along by that bit of luck that any successful team needs, but for the press to claim they have already won the league and won’t lose is typical media short-sightedness. As Gerrard says: "Everyone is saying that they are invincible and unbeatable, and that no
one was going to take any points off them but we have proved to ourselves
that the gap is not that big. On Wednesday I think the first half was pretty even and that we cancelled
each other out a bit, but we made all the running in the second half.
Overall I would say we controlled the game and were the team that looked
like they wanted to win it more."
Now Liverpool are in confident mood: "The result gives us massive belief that we can match them again and take
the game to them. It also instills a confidence in us that we can claim all
three points."
This confidence is good, but Liverpool aren’t blind to the fact that Chelsea’s boss Mourinho is a poor loser and won’t like to see his team beaten. His opposite number Rafael Benitez is prepared for this, saying: "People used to talk about the rivalry between Manchester United and
Liverpool. Arsenal came onto the scene and were the best team for a few
seasons and everyone wanted to beat them, but now it’s Chelsea. When you know you’re competing with each other for trophies, there is sure
to be a rivalry. They try to play mind games with us with their words, but
we always stay focused on our game."