BENITEZ: WORLD CUP HANGOVER IS FINALLY OVER

Rafael Benitez believes that it's no coincidence that Liverpool's recent rapid rise up the Premiership table has coincided with the return to form of the majority of his World Cup stars.

Liverpool, like many clubs across Europe, have seen many of their international players struggle for form after a intense summer of World Cup activity but signs are clearly emerging that the international players most affected by the summer hangover are now getting back to their best. "We are now seeing the best of our World Cup players after difficult times earlier in the season," claims Rafa. "It is clear that in the top sides important players had some problems. "It depends on your squad how you handle that. If you have a good squad you can manage. You can win games but the key players, the ones who played in the World Cup, were not playing well - not just here but in top clubs around Europe. "For us now you can see Xabi Alonso, Steven Gerrard and Pepe Reina are playing better. The team is playing with more quality, and that underlines why our form is so much better."

By Paul Rogers 19 December 2006