The race for title No 19 begins
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Benitez confident of Reds' Premiership chances after South-east Asian swing
JUST hours after Liverpool's 5-0 thrashing of Singapore here on Sunday, manager Rafael Benitez said he has no doubt his side will be title contenders again in the coming Premiership season.
The Reds got their first pre-season win under their belt with their victory over the Lions in the same week arch-rivals Manchester United were in the region, playing a Malaysian XI in Kuala Lumpur.
Liverpool's Singapore result followed their 0-0 draw with St Gallen of Switzerland, a 1-0 loss to Rapid Vienna and a 1-1 draw with Thailand.
Benitez is upbeat about the year ahead and said that his squad are starting to gel and find their form, with just three weeks until their 2009-2010 English Premier League opener on Aug 16 against Tottenham Hotspur.
"It was a good game. We worked hard and played at a high tempo with a professional mentality," he said.
"I think we are improving physically every single day.
"Some of the players returned late from international duty so it was important for them to play for 30 minutes.
"You can see that some of them are a little bit tired, but the mentality and attitude was good and it was a very good game."
'We have to work harder'
Liverpool finished second to United last season but many feel this year is their best chance to win the title since they last got their hands on it 19 years ago.
Both United and the Reds are tied on 18 titles in England's top flight and Liverpool fans will be desperate to deny their arch-rivals from getting a record 19th crown.
"We have confidence that we can be at the top of table. It can happen," said Benitez.
"The message is clear, we have to be contenders, we have to work harder than last year. We need to get to the top of the table and stay at top and be competitive for the whole season and hopefully win the trophy."
A plus point for Liverpool on Sunday was a brace from young Hungarian striker Krisztian Nemeth on his senior debut after excelling in the reserves. Nemeth came on after an hour and wasted no time in finding the back of the net.
Andriy Voronin, Albert Riera and Fernando Torres also got on the scoresheet.
Liverpool flew back to England late on Sunday to prepare for a friendly against Espanyol on Aug 2, with Steven Gerrard expected to return. The Reds captain missed their Asian tour after standing trial for fighting and was acquitted last Friday. AFP
"The message is clear, we have to be contenders, we have to work harder than last year. We need to get to the top of the table and stay at top and be competitive for the whole season and hopefully win the trophy."
A plus point for Liverpool on Sunday was a brace from young Hungarian striker Krisztian Nemeth on his senior debut after excelling in the reserves. Nemeth came on after an hour and wasted no time in finding the back of the net.
Andriy Voronin, Albert Riera and Fernando Torres also got on the scoresheet.
Liverpool flew back to England late on Sunday to prepare for a friendly against Espanyol on Aug 2, with Steven Gerrard expected to return. The Reds captain missed their Asian tour after standing trial for fighting and was acquitted last Friday.
Benitez (left) is confident of breaking Liverpool's title drought, but Ferguson is not prepared to let that happen.
AFP