Babel hopes for Euro inspiration

Ryan Babel is backing the magic of the Champions League to inspire a performance from Liverpool's players that will revive their ailing season.

The Reds flew out to Lyon today knowing anything other than a victory in Stade Gerland tomorrow evening will effectively consign them to a campaign in the Europa League in the New Year, a prospect that seemed inconceivable when the draw for the Champions League group stages was made in Monaco in August.
 
If that alarming prospect is not going to become harsh reality, Liverpool's players will have to dramatically improve the kind of displays that have increased the scrutiny on Rafa Benitez and threatened their ambitions of making significant progress.
 
Babel is well aware of the peril that looms but, equally, he is not allowing himself to get distracted by negative thoughts, particularly as the Champions League has provided the scene for some of Benitez's most thrilling victories.
 
The best example, of course, was the rousing second-half display, inspired by Steven Gerrard, against Olympiakos in December 2004, which provided the catalyst for the Reds to go on and win the tournament against the odds.
 
On a par with that triumph, though, was the 4-0 thrashing of Marseille in December 2007 which enabled them to recover from a woeful start - they had one point from their first three games - to a group that also contained FC Porto and Besiktas.
 
So despite many already writing Liverpool off, Babel - a player who tends to save his best efforts for the Champions League - expects an emphatic response to banish the memory of Saturday's miserable showing at Craven Cottage.
 
"We may have lost against Fulham but I still believe the team has enough confidence to play well on Wednesday. The Champions League is different competition," said Babel. "We have a good history in it and we have the confidence to start well again.
 
"We will stay together as a team. We have lost some games and that is not good for our situation but we showed against Manchester United that we can play so well.
 
"That was a good example of what we can do. If we show passion and work together, we can beat anyone at any time. Lyon is another game. 
 
"We have got the confidence to go there and get the result we need; when some players come back from injury, we will be much stronger."
 
Unfortunately for Babel and company, the sick bay is not going to clear significantly before tomorrow and if their aspirations in Europe are not going to be compromised, the Dutchman recognises mistakes - like when Dirk Kuyt needlessly kept in a ball that was heading out of play and led to Fulham scoring their killer second - must be rectified.
 
"Losing like that was tough to take," he said. "We had control for most of the game. We tried to push them and put them under pressure in the second half, we tried to keep them deep.
 
"We were unlucky with the first red card (given to Philipp Degen). In my opinion, a red card was too heavy. I think it was the same for Carra. They were two big decisions that turned the game.
 
"But there were other things. Dirk made a decision to chase a ball. He wanted to keep it in and didn't want to leave it.
 
"So people will say it was Dirk's mistake. But if you defend that situation properly as a team, you won't concede that kind of goal. The team made a lot of mistakes and maybe the referee played his part as well. That is what cost us victory at Fulham."
 
Glen Johnson, meanwhile, is hoping to be fit to play his part against Lyon, as he is desperate to help Benitez's men launch a revival.
 
"The Champions League is the best club competition there is," said the England international. "I played in it a few times with Chelsea and playing in it again was something I was looking forward to doing here.
 
"I would love to go on and win it with Liverpool. But I don't want to look too far ahead because we have made things very difficult for ourselves.
 
"On paper we should be winning this group. The Champions League is just as important to us as the Premier League. They are both massive competitions and we like to do well in them both.
 
"The further that we get in the Champions League and the closer we get to the title, the happier the club will be. But playing in Europe, as we have shown over the last few years, suits our style."
 
Johnson will need to recover from a calf problem to figure in France and accepts there is no margin for error.
 
"We are three points behind Fiorentina, so we may need to win all three remaining games," he said. "Lyon have got to play Fiorentina as well, so somebody will drop points.
 
"We would be happy with three wins but Lyon are a fantastic team who score lots of goals. We must stick together and fight for each other. Hopefully we can come back with three points."
 
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