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Alonso in tune with Benitez as Liverpool set their sights on catching Chelsea
SPANISH ace Xabi Alonso believes Liverpool's improvement last term - and their hoped for increased confidence for the coming campaign - can be put down to the fact that the Anfield stars now really understand what manager Rafael Benitez wants from his players.
The obsessive coach, who knows he must improve even more next term to keep in contact with Chelsea and the rest of the top four, ended last season admitting that he at last believed the players were on his wavelength.
Alonso certainly backs up that theory as the new campaign approaches.
Alonso said: "There's no doubt that last season we became more used to the ideas of the manager and what he wanted from us.
"We were more solid in defence, that was the key for Rafa, and we tried to score more goals and because of that we were far stronger.
"We now want to carry on in this way for next season. He is really professional, very methodical, he knows what he wants and because of that we try to show it on the pitch."
Alonso's own visionary passing and 'quarter-back' control in front of the back-line, was vital to that progress.
He says: "We were happy with what we achieved overall last season.
"We were much stronger, more solid and compact, and to get 82 points and finish third was unbelievable, while winning the FA Cup turned the campaign into a great one.
"But we know we dare not stand still, we must progress, progress, progress all the time.
"With a few new players we would hope to push Manchester United and Chelsea even closer next season.
"It is obvious the difference between us last season were the games we played against those two clubs who finished ahead of us. We won only one point from four matches.
"That was not good enough and we know we have to translate our better form into winning those big games. If we had taken more points off them then we would have been even closer to them, especially Manchester United.
"That's what we have to work on, to be more effective in the big games."
Alonso sees a need to sharpen up against the lesser clubs and retain total concentration all term as the prerequisites for catching Chelsea.
He says: "Last season we were winning a lot of games but against the top teams we struggled a little bit. That's why in the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea we wanted to show the level we are at and I think we did that.
"We showed that we improved from when we won the Champions League but we want to carry on.
"We don't want to stop. We want to challenge for the title. That's our target next season."
And on that battle for supremacy with Chelsea, Alonso is confident.
He said: "In big cup ties we have shown we are their equals, if not better.
"But when we have played them in the league they have been powerful and we still have not managed to beat them. But that is our aim, we want to challenge for the title serious and a nine-point gap last season was a lot better than the 37-point gap the previous campaign.
"We know we can match Chelsea, and in cup ties they know that too.
"Now we have to achieve those results in the Premiership." |
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樓主: 奧雲仔仔
發表於 06-8-1 06:53 AM
發表於 06-8-1 03:30 PM
