Defence key for mean Reds

When Carlo Ancelotti described Liverpool FC as "a Mediterranean type of team", the reaction among some English headline writers was to assume the AC Milan coach was criticising his UEFA Champions League final opponents. Yet in claiming Liverpool lacked "the DNA of the English", Ancelotti was not making mischief but merely offering his appraisal of the Anfield team's virtues. "Very organised and with an extraordinary capacity for concentration," he said.

Strengths
Of course, the accompanying suggestion that Manchester United FC were more technically gifted was never going to go down well on Merseyside but not even Liverpool supporters would deny where the strengths of their side lie. A poll for the club's player of the year on the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo newspapers' website features a goalkeeper (Pepe Reina), three defenders (Jamie Carragher, Steve Finnan and Daniel Agger) and a midfielder (Xabi Alonso) in the top five.

Leader of the pack
Reina was the obvious hero of the Reds' penalty shoot-out victory over Chelsea FC in the semi-finals yet as the fans' vote underlines, the entire back line has been pivotal to Liverpool's progress. None more so than Carragher, the homegrown bulwark – and a player whose DNA could not be more English. His inspirational efforts against FC Barcelona in the first knockout round, leading the resistance as Liverpool held on to their first-leg advantage, led Steven Gerrard to declare he "wouldn't swap him for anyone".

Agger praised
Full-back pair of Finnan and John Arne Riise - like Carragher, survivors of the 2005 final triumph against Milan - and Daniel Agger are just as consistent. The 22-year-old Agger has had an outstanding first season at Anfield, bringing greater mobility to the rearguard after stepping into the shoes of Sami Hyypiä. The Dane's technical ability and composure allow him to get into forward positions and he struck the early goal at Anfield that erased Chelsea's advantage in the semi-final.

Clean sheets
If you discount the 3-2 defeat Liverpool suffered at Galatasaray SK with Group C already won, they have kept seven clean sheets and conceded just five goals in their other eleven UEFA Champions League games, a rate of one every 204 minutes. This is how Benítez likes it - his Valencia CF team achieved nine shutouts in 13 matches en route to the UEFA Cup in 2004 – and it helps explain Ancelotti's favourable comparison with Manchester United, who shipped 13 in 12 outings. There is a confidence in the Liverpool camp that Milan will find it much tougher to penetrate their defence this time and certainly the way Benítez lines up his side with a holding midfielder in Athens – most likely Javier Mascherano – will bring the additional security against Kaká and company that they lacked in the first half in Istanbul, prior to Dietmar Hamann's half-time introduction.

No surprises
The key question for Liverpool appears to be whether they can contain Kaká. That can only be answered on the field in Athens but at least the experience gained in 2005 should prevent a repeat of the flood of goals of two years ago. "This time nothing can take us by surprise," said Carragher. "Obviously we'd prefer to get our noses in front this time. We definitely don't want to make things as difficult for ourselves." Benítez would like it that way too. Asked by a journalist how he would respond if Liverpool conceded an early goal as in Istanbul, the Spaniard replied with a smile: "I would prefer another experience." Ancelotti, for one, would not be surprised if he got his wish.

This is an abridged version of an article that appears in this week's uefa.com Magazine. To read it in full, click here.