Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez says UEFA should have postponed this Thursday’s Europa League tie with Atletico Madrid, as he sets off with the team accross a 1,200 mile trip from Merseyside.
A cloud of volcanic ash traveling accross Britain and Europe has thrown travel arrangements for this week’s Champions League and Europa League matches into chaos, with the Reds traveling down to Bordeaux, via London and Paris on the train in order to catch a flight to Madrid.
Benitez is worried his players will feel the fatigue of the traveling in the first leg of the tie in the Spanish capital come Thursday evening.
He said, “In these special circumstances it could be better to postpone the game but we have to go.
“We will go to London and see what can happen. Maybe then the airports will be open and maybe we can fly from there.
“We have the organisation for coming back as soon as possible but anyway it will be Saturday – which is not the best for the Premier League game.
“If the airports are open maybe we can fly directly but at this moment it is more difficult to come back than it is to go.
“We are assessing things hour by hour. We have two or three options going and at this moment just one coming back but we will see if we can improve that.”
Liverpool take on Burnley this Sunday afternoon in the Premier League.
