Rijkaard: Reds have no style but could be kings of Europe
Frank Rijkaard does not like Liverpool's style but believes they are capable of beating any team left in the Champions League. Barcelona's Dutch boss saw his side surrender their European crown last night on away goals, having won the second leg of their last 16 tie at Anfield 1-0 thanks to a late Eidur Gudjohnsen goal.Rijkaard said: "Liverpool produced a great performance. I do not see it as being progressive, they are very direct while being mentally strong and motivated. "Other teams will not like playing them. With luck they can beat anyone in the competition."
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez was just proud of his team for their resilience under intense second-half pressure. He said: "I am really proud of my players, they produced almost a perfect performance. But the fans too played their part."
Rijkaard accepted the loss of Barcelona's European crown with good grace, saying: "We won this leg, but maybe we were lucky considering the amount of chances they created in the first half. "We tried everything possible and I am proud of the spirit and effort my players put in. They worked hard and tried everything, but Liverpool are a difficult team to play against.
"They are strong, direct and are mentally tough. That is the way it goes, sometimes it is like that in football however hard you try. "I can only congratulate Liverpool, they are a vigorous side and for the neutral it must have been a game full of good attacking football.
"From Liverpool it was a great performance. There style is very difficult to play against. We tried everything, although we were not at our best. "We fought to the very last seconds, but Liverpool were highly motivated and they defended in such a way to stop us getting close to their goal.
"Anfield is such a difficult place to play in."