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Rafa urges Reds to concentrate on Spanish challenge
Rafael Benitez has urged his Liverpool side to forget about defending their Champions League title and concentrate on the task in hand against Spain's newest entrants to the competition.
The defending champions have been feted from the airport to their hotel and then to the Estadio Manuel Ruiz de Lopera for their training session ahead of today's clash against Real Betis.
Everyone wanted to shake the hands of the team who were adopted by the Spanish public as Benitez's squad - with many players arriving from La Liga - took the trophy so magnificently in Istanbul.
It would be easy to bask in that glory, and even easier to allow Betis - on their Champions League debut - to inflict a blow in the opening Group G match.
Benitez said: 'We must not think about `defending our trophy', we must only think about winning one game. The atmosphere in the stadium will be wonderful, but it will only be wonderful for Betis.
'Everybody in Seville has been very friendly, they always are, this is a lovely city. But I do not think the atmosphere will be friendly towards us when the match starts.'
Benitez is expected to bring back Xabi Alonso into the side after resting the midfielder to the bench at Tottenham on Saturday, and he is certain to start with rangy Peter Crouch up front.
Of the Betis defence, Benitez added: 'It does not have any central defenders over six foot, they will find it difficult against Crouch.'
The two English sides in this group can make a significant start to their campaign with wins in their opening matches against the two lower seeded teams.
If Chelsea beat Anderlecht and Liverpool beat Betis, the Premiership clubs will be on the way to claiming the two qualifying places from the group.
Benitez, whose clear vision for the future is underlined by the fact that he has only one picture in his Anfield office of that great night in Istanbul, said: 'My only aim is to win here and not to concede a goal. We have worked on handling their free kicks and I do not want any silly mistakes.
'As for the rest of the group, yes we can also beat Chelsea. We beat them last season and we showed then that we can beat anyone in the tournament. But apart from the group games I do not intend thinking of anything else.
'I do not think about winning the trophy again, I cannot think about another final if we do not start right by winning here.
'We started last season by winning our opening match in the competition against Monaco, and I want another win here. Since then we have improved the squad in many ways.
'Maybe we still have some of the same problems, but generally the squad has been improved and we have more depth.
'And as for playing in Spain, many of my players know the stadium and the atmosphere and know how to handle it.'
Benitez's words were echoed by Alonso, who said: 'We must be careful here, but we are also confident.
'Considering what happened to us last season in this competition, anything can happen. Of course we can go to the final again.
'But if we want to play in Paris next May then we must start by winning here in Seville. Of course there is a long way to go, but look what happened last season, anything is possible.
'But we know that other teams will be motivated because we are the European champions, and Betis are a very difficult side at home. They break quickly and have good wingers and a striker in Ricardo Oliveira who can score a lot of goals.
'But because we are champions we are confident of what we can do. It is great for myself and the rest of the Spanish lads in the Liverpool squad to come home to defend the trophy, but it will be greater still to go back to England with three points.'
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