John Arne Riise has warned his Liverpool teammates that patience will be the key to their chances of overturning a 1-0 deficit in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Chelsea at Anfield tonight.
Chelsea go into the clash as favorites to progress to next month's final in Athens on the back of the narrow advantage they earned through Joe Cole's winner at Stamford Bridge last week.
But Liverpool's Norwegian defender is confident that the Reds can repeat their triumph over the London club at the same stage of the competition two years ago, despite being outplayed in the first leg.
PHOTO: AP
Chelsea might easily have added to Cole's winner last Wednesday, but they can scarcely expect that fact to be taken into consideration when they run out at Anfield, where they were beaten 2-0 in a Premiership clash earlier this year.
The home crowd will expect nothing less than an all-out assault on the Chelsea goal, but Liverpool also know that an away goal for opponents who are adept on the counter attack is likely to be fatal.
"We know we're going to have to score and it would help if we can get an early goal," said Riise, one of the few survivors from the Liverpool squad that beat AC Milan in the final on penalties two years ago.
"We didn't create many chances on Tuesday [at Chelsea], but we performed better in the second half and at home we know we can get forward and score goals.
"We need a good start. If we get that, with the crowd behind us, it means it could be game on. It's also important to be patient and be careful to give nothing away.
"Two years ago it was unbelievable and it can be the same again."
Liverpool know they must be wary of the threat posed by Didier Drogba, the Ivory Coast striker who set up Cole for his first-leg winner.
"He's as strong as a bull, he works hard and he scores goals," Riise said. "It's very difficult to play against him."
Drogba's physical presence has repeatedly given Liverpool's defense serious problems and it was his run and pass which created the opening for Cole to score in the first leg.
But the big striker will be walking a disciplinary tightrope on Tuesday night -- a yellow card would mean he misses the final should Chelsea progress.
Chelsea still have a chance of claiming four pieces of silverware this season, but the weekend's Premiership results have seriously compromised their chances of a third straight league title.
That should ensure that Mourinho will need to do little to get his side in the right frame of mind for their task here, but the cause has not been helped by the loss of centerback Ricardo Carvalho.
Chelsea's best defender this season is destined to spend the summer recovering from a knee injury after limping out of Saturday's 2-2 draw with Bolton Wanderers, while Michael Ballack will also be missing following surgery last week.
Michael Essien is available again however after missing the first leg through suspension and could be asked to fill the gap left by Carvalho's injury.
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