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Rafa on Madrid return

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has spoken of his delight at being back in his home town of Madrid, preparing the Reds to face Athletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon tonight.

After taking maximum points from their first two Champions League games, Liverpool face their biggest test yet in Spain’s capital (kick-off 7.45pm).

Benitez says, “I’m really pleased to be here, in my town. My home town now is Liverpool but I come from Madrid so I am pleased to be here. I have a very good opinion of Atletico, their fans and everything. I will enjoy it and we will try to win.

“We know that the game will be in the Calderon Stadium, so it will be really difficult. The team is good and they have good players. It will be difficult regardless of whether they lost games with Real Madrid and Barcelona because they are both big teams too.

“The Champions League is extra motivation for all the players. It will be a massive game, for sure.”