Lille boss eyes Anfield goal

Garcia won't tell his side to play for a draw in return leg

By Jamie Casey   Last updated: 12th March 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Lille boss eyes Anfield goal

Garcia: Taking lead to Liverpool

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Lille coach Rudi Garcia believes his side will have to score at Anfield if they are to knock Liverpool out of the Europa League.

The French side heaped further misery on the Reds' shambolic season with a 1-0 first-leg last-16 win in Europe's secondary club competition at the Metropole Stadium on Thursday.

Garcia insists, though, that his team is not set up to defend for a draw and he admits they will travel to England in search of a goal to help their quest towards the quarter-finals.

"We are not a team set to play for 0-0. I believe we will have to score to get through," Garcia told L'Equipe.

"The most important thing was to keep our chances of qualification after the first match, and that result has to give us some trust."

Garcia admits his side allowed Liverpool chances to take something away from the game, but hailed goalkeeper Mickael Landreau for keeping the Reds out with a number of vital stops.

"We played without any complex," he added. "Liverpool put a lot of defensive intensity. We had to take care of the counter-attacks and we did it well, even if they had some dangerous opportunities.

Belief

"But we had a great keeper. We would be wrong to not believe in a possible feat against a big European team."

Garcia is wary of the threat Rafa Benitez's side are capable of and has pinpointed their woeful form this term with key duo Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres missing chunks of action.

"Liverpool is a great team of Europe," said Garcia. "We know they were a little less as good this season in the absence of Gerrard and Torres."

Highly-rated goal hero Eden Hazard grabbed the only goal of the game as his free-kick delivery evaded everyone in the box to creep in at Pepe Reina's far post.

The Belgian teenager admits his good fortune with the goal, and backs his manager's opinion that the French side must find the back of the net at Anfield.

He said: "I was lucky. But I hope my goal will remain indelibly printed - if we can get qualification. During the return leg we will have to play fast and score at least one goal."