Defeat spurs Carragher forward

Jamie Carragher vowed that Liverpool FC would bounce back and demonstrate the "character and quality" required to qualify from the UEFA Champions League group stage, despite their shock 1-0 home defeat against Olympique de Marseille.

Solitary point
Last season's runners-up have just one point to show from their two matches so far, while Mathieu Valbuena's curling winner in the 77th minute kept Marseille top of Group A with a maximum six points, and Carragher concedes that Liverpool's fate may well be decided in the return match against the French side at the Stade Vélodrome on 11 December.

Still confident
The Liverpool defender said: "We've got to be confident. We've got a big, strong squad and the players have proved over the last few years that we are very good in this competition, so we will still have the confidence. We know it will be difficult but it's up to us now to show the character and the quality to go through.

Tough task
"If it goes down to the last game in Marseille, it won't be easy for Marseille either," he added. "We've made it tough for ourselves but hopefully, over these next four games, we will get enough points. Even at our best, Marseille played very well and I think they deserved to win. It's difficult to put your finger on what went wrong. We've not played as well as we can in recent games, although we have managed to sneak some results, but this time it has gone the other way."

Pressure on
Carragher paid tribute to Marseille for their success at Anfield, though he could not mask his disappointment at the way the Reds performed on a night when they were second best for most of the game. "This puts a bit of pressure on us but we've got to deal with it now," he said. "Right from the start, we didn't really perform. We have to hold our hands up for that but credit to Marseille – they put in a very good performance. Sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition, which we do, but also we realise we didn't do our best ourselves."