Football
ESPN staff 9y

Rickie Lambert: Liverpool more than capable of beating Real Madrid

Rickie Lambert has told the Liverpool Echo he is desperate to face Real Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday and insists that Liverpool have to go into the game looking to get a win.

Liverpool face two games against the European champions over the next fortnight and, after suffering defeat at Basel in their last outing, the pressure is on to secure a result on home soil.

Madrid will be without Gareth Bale and Sergio Ramos for the match but remain strong favourites as Liverpool struggle to find their best form this season.

Even so, Lambert, who said it would be "unbelievable to be involved" in Wednesday's match, is confident Liverpool can cause an upset.

"I think we have to take something off Madrid in these two games," he said. "We have to be going into the home game thinking we're going to take three points and we're more than capable of doing that.

"Real Madrid have probably got the best squad in the competition but that doesn't necessarily mean they're going to win the game. We've got an unbelievably good squad ourselves and all the players are ready to show that."

He added: "The club has waited years for games like this. This is reward for what the team achieved last season with the performances they put in.

"We understand that we're up against one of the best teams in the world but we're excited. We're a match for anyone, especially at home. When we're on it we can beat anyone. That is exactly what we'll be thinking going into Wednesday's game and we'll be trying to take three points off them."

Lambert has yet to score since returning to his hometown club from Southampton in the summer, but he has consulted with sports psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters and feels it has been a case of trying too hard.

"It's the whole Liverpool thing -- the lad from Liverpool, who has supported Liverpool all his life, signing for Liverpool," he said. "I probably took too much of that on my shoulders and thought too much about it.

"I'm not going to hide away from it. I think at times I probably have been trying too hard. I'm at my best when I don't really care what other people say -- when I'm relaxed and just focused on my own game, when I'm in my own little world really.

"That's what I'm getting back to -- letting things go, rather than beating myself up about the last couple of months and thinking too much into things Don't get me wrong, my focus is still there but now it's just focused in the right place."

He is confident that the rest of his teammates will find their form in the near future too.

"We need to remember there's been a lot of changes at the club," he said after a summer in which eight new players were brought into the first-team squad.

"Take me for example -- I wanted to hit the ground running but sometimes it doesn't happen. Sometimes it takes a bit of time.

"We've got new players adapting and playing more and more with each other. I'm sure over the next few weeks you will see a stronger Liverpool team who are going to do better both in the league and in Europe."

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