Rafael Benitez has called on struggling Newcastle United to show the same spirit that helped his old Liverpool team stage one of the all-time great escape acts to win the Uefa Champions League.
Benitez will be back on familiar territory on Saturday when the Newcastle manager takes his team to Anfield, where he spent six successful seasons before leaving in 2010.
The undoubted highlight of Benitez’s Liverpool reign was the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul when Liverpool recovered from a 3-0 half-time deficit to beat AC Milan on penalties.
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And Benitez said Newcastle will have to emulate Liverpool’s never-say-die spirit over the last four games of the season to avoid being relegated for the first time since 2009.
“I use the example of Vladimir Smicer. At Liverpool, he was not playing too many games and I said to the players who weren’t playing too many games, ‘You have to be ready and fit, you never know when you will be important’,” said Benitez, whose side are two points adrift of safety and haven’t won a league game at Liverpool since 1994.
“And he was. He came in and he was massive for us in the Champions League final.
“So the players have to know how important they are because in the end, they can make the difference. They have to be ready.”
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