LIVERPOOL WERE given a fillip after defeating Benfica in the Europa League when their goalkeeper Jose Reina signed a new six-year contract.

“It’s probably the best news of my life that I’ll be here for the next six years. Me and my family are really happy here,” the Spaniard said.

“To play for Liverpool is very special. I’ve been here for five years and now I will be here for six more and it’s very exciting. It’s very important that my family love it here as well, as family life is just as important as my career.”

Reina will have a chance to re-establish the connection with his homeland when Liverpool take on Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals this month. Certainly, the efficient way they dispatched Benfica will have made sobering viewing for the watching Roberto Mancini whose Manchester City are hoping to secure fourth place in the Premier League ahead of Rafa Benitez’s side.

Liverpool have a tough game tomorrow when Fulham visit Anfield while they must play Chelsea on the penultimate weekend of the season. City are four points clear with a game in hand but with Birmingham City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Tottenham to come for the world’s wealthiest club, Benitez believes the pendulum will swing back his way.

“I don’t know what City or Tottenham think but they are in a good position and if they lose it will be more through their own fault and that will put them under more pressure,” he said.

Liverpool require only six more goals to match the club’s best ever return at Anfield in the Premier League era, the 46 scored in 1995-96. But that does not disguise the flaws of a team that can lose insipidly at Wigan yet eclipse the Portuguese league leaders less than a month later. “The question this year has been consistency,” Benitez said. “It is very clear that you need a good, big squad and then you can manage. After one international break, we had [Glen] Johnson, [Sotirios] Kyrgiakos, [Fernando] Torres and [Steven] Gerrard injured, [Fabio] Aurelio at the beginning too. When you have too many problems with starting players you need a bigger squad.”

As for Fulham, the Liverpool manager will again monitor the fitness of Fernando Torres before deciding on the striker’s involvement.“It is important he is not weary,” said Benitez. “If Torres is fit he can be very, very dangerous. He can make a difference.”

Guardian Service