'The Anfield fans gave them power'

22nd Feb 2013 - Latest News

Zenit St Petersburg midfielder Axel Witsel described the noise at Anfield on Thursday evening as 'crazy' and believes Reds fans gave Liverpool extra power in the tie.

witsel

The Belgian first experienced the atmosphere at L4 in 2008 when the Reds faced Standard Liege in a Champions League qualifier.

But such were the decibel levels when the Russians took to the pitch yesterday that Witsel admitted his team almost suffered elimination.

The 24-year-old told UEFA.com: "It was crazy - we had a lot of pressure against us with the fans. They gave a power to Liverpool - it was not easy.

"After they scored the third anything could have happened but we were strong and we're happy because we got the qualification.

"I played here with Standard and it was crazy like tonight."

Zenit teammate Nicolas Lombaerts was forced off with injury at half-time, when the score was at 2-1 and Liverpool required a further two goals to progress.

The defender accepted that the Russian champions could have had no complaints if the Reds had completed their fightback.

"If Liverpool had got through we couldn't have said anything," he added.

"At home we could have scored more than two times but they could have scored also. It was 50-50 who deserved it."





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Well thats a realistic view from the opposition. At least from what i see,rodgers are building a fortress again at anfield. YNWA Liverpool
jjj jo
22nd Feb 2013 11:34
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