Sahin ready to lead by example
Nuri Sahin is ready to draw on his continental experience and lead by example as a young Liverpool side aim to get their Europa League group-stage campaign off to a flier by beating Young Boys tonight.
Sahin was one of the more experienced players in the squad that departed Merseyside on Wednesday afternoon to travel to Switzerland for the Group A clash.
And the 24-year-old, who has featured in the Europa League before with German outfit Borussia Dortmund, is intent on assuming a role of responsibility at the Stade de Suisse.
"I'm one of the players with the most experience on the field and of course, I will try to lead the team," he told a pre-match press conference in Bern.
"I play central midfield and I have to take plenty of responsibility. I am glad to do this, but we have a few other players who can lead the team as well.
"I only played a few games [for Real Madrid] last year and this year I want to play every game and every minute.
"I need games to get my level to where it belongs and this will be a good game for me to do this.
"I have played in this competition with Borussia Dortmund before and it's a difficult competition. When the Champions League teams come in after the first group stage, it becomes a very difficult competition."
Sahin arrived at Anfield as part of a year-long loan which was finalised in late August and has since featured once for the Reds against Arsenal in early September.
"I've settled in very well," he said. "Liverpool is a huge club and the manager, the team and all the people in Liverpool have done a really good job of helping me settle in and I feel very good about it.
"We all love football and every game is very important for us. The Europa League is a very, very good competition and we will try to play right to the end [of the tournament].
"Looking at the [Stade de Suisse], it is a very nice stadium, and so I hope I can be a part of this game."