Sunday Snippets

Liverpool will take on familiar rivals Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup, it was announced yesterday.

The draw took place on Saturday lunchtime and drew Liverpool with an away trip to Stamford Bridge which will take place on either December 18th or 19th, depending on television coverage.

Rafael Benitez has been looking to Tuesday’s Champions League showdown with Besiktas at Anfield, claiming it’s ‘œnot the end of the world’ if his side loses and crashes out of the Champions League.

“But if we lose it is not the end of the world, and if we do the right things against Besiktas and win then we have the confidence to go forward and win again – we will have momentum.

“If we cannot win these three games and finish in the UEFA Cup, then we must accept that.”

The Spaniard has also spoken of his disappointment to not take three points at Ewood Park on Saturday, ruing the missed chances his side created.

“We are very disappointed not to have won the game,” said Benitez. “We knew before the game that Blackburn would be tough opponents because they have been playing well and scoring goals.

“After the game we could easily have won this match because we created very clear chances, but we didn’t take them.”

He went on to defend under-fire Dirk Kuyt, praising him for his workrate in Saturday evening’s goalless draw. “He is a fantastic worker and he gives a lot to this team. At least he’s getting in the positions to score.”

Meanwhile out-on-loan goalkeeper Scott Carson has expressed his desire to make his move to Aston Villa permanent in the January transfer window. He says, “I’ve been out on loan a lot over the past couple of seasons and it’s not easy when you keep moving up and down the country. It would be nice to settle at a club that I like and where the fans like me.

“I’ve settled in well here at Villa. Everyone has welcomed me and that has been a big help. What I want now is to be settled for the next five to 10 years. I want to play as many games as possible.”