Luis Garcia

García goes for goal
Liverpool FC's UEFA Champions League title defence hangs in the balance. Trailing 1-0 from the first knockout round first leg in Lisbon, they must find the net in the return at Anfield and this season that has been a problem for the European champions.

Goal concern
Rafael Benítez's side have failed to score two goals in a game since January. Strikers Djibril Cissé, Fernando Morientes and Robbie Fowler have failed to register in 649, 956 and 358 minutes respectively, while Peter Crouch has netted just once in little less than 800 minutes. No wonder Liverpool fans are worried their chant of "In gay Paris we'll win it [the European Champion Clubs' Cup] six times" may get its final airing tonight.

Garcia return
However, Benítez has an ace in his pack as Liverpool seek to overturn that deficit. After being rested for Saturday's goalless draw against Charlton Athletic FC, Spanish international forward Luis García is set to return.

Knockout star
Garcia this week leapt to the defence of his striking colleagues, saying "I have faith because we have four of the best strikers in Europe", but it may well be the diminutive Catalan who is Liverpool's match-winner. Last season he hit five goals against Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Juventus and Chelsea FC in the knockout rounds of Liverpool's triumphant campaign. Those goals were a huge factor in the 27-year-old being selected in the uefa.com users' Team of 2005.

Fans honour
García told uefa.com what the award meant to him: "I received the news from a friend of mine - he called me and told me I had been named in the Team of the Year. The truth is, you don't get used to the idea until people call you and congratulate you. I think for a football player it is pretty nice and very important to be part of such a team, especially when it is voted for by the fans. This makes you feel happy with your work and appreciated."

Brilliant year
Not surprisingly, García rates 2005 as his best year. He said: "When I signed for Liverpool, my ambitions were to play as many minutes as possible and to adapt to the Premiership and a new country as soon as possible. In the end, we won the UEFA Champions League and I ended up playing a lot of matches and scoring many goals."

European success
He acknowledges that his best performances have come in European games, saying: "I felt very comfortable playing in the UEFA Champions League. It was more complicated in the Premiership. In the Champions League I was lucky and scored a lot of goals. These matches helped me become more and more confident. I am proud to have contributed to Liverpool's European success."

Benfica challenge
García has had a troubled 2006 so far, starting just two games as he recovers from a knee injury. However, his eye for goal remains in evidence and he has registered against Bolton Wanderers FC and Arsenal FC. Now the focus is Benfica. "We are optimistic because we have been working well," he said. "The team are more and more solid, but we know Benfica are a tough side to beat - they are technically very strong and have a coach who knows how to position his players. But we are in the Champions League and everything is possible at this level." After Istanbul, no one knows that better than Liverpool.
UEFA