Rafa's Lille verdict

Rafael Benitez insisted he was pleased with the response of his players during the 1-0 defeat at Lille and then backed them to overturn the first-leg deficit at Anfield next week.

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Eden Hazard's late strike means the Reds have it all to do in the second-leg on Merseyside, but the boss is confident that they can still progress to the quarter-finals if they show the same desire to win on home turf.

"I think it was an improvement," he told his post-match press conference.

"The reaction has been very positive. I am disappointed with the result, but really pleased with the effort of the players.

"I have confidence we can beat anyone on a good day at Anfield. I would be worried today if the players hadn't worked as hard as they have. The fans will play a part, they will push and will be behind the team.

"Lille are a good side, with good players and they are dangerous. We will play a difficult game at Anfield but have confidence we can beat them."

On a bitterly cold night in northern France, Liverpool had their opportunities to score an all-important away goal, with Ryan Babel and Fernando Torres both going close.

Benitez accepts a first-leg strike could have made all the difference to the tie but remains upbeat about his side's hopes.

"When you play away in these knockout competitions, you have to score when you have chances," he said.

"In any competition it is important to try and score away, particularly in this one. It is a great advantage if you do. If not you have to be strong, but I think we were strong enough today.

"We had two or three situations, so that was a pity, but the reaction was good and we still have 90 minutes to play.

"Sometimes you play well and score an early goal - then you can manage the game. If we work as hard as we did today, we can beat anyone.

"The attitude of the players was fantastic. We were talking about not letting the fans down in terms of team effort and I think we did this.

"Every game is important for us now. We have to be ready to play Portsmouth and try to win. Then we have to look to the Europa League game, that is how it is when you are a top side playing in different competitions."

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