RAFA PLEASED WITH SPIRIT IN CAMP

Jimmy Rice 21 February 2007 Rafa Benitez was delighted with his players' response following a difficult build-up to their Nou Camp showdown.

Goals from Craig Bellamy and John Arne Riise saw the Reds claim a superb 2-1 victory over Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie. "I said before in the press conference that the atmosphere between the players was really good and you could see today them all working very hard for the team, for the club and for the supporters," said Benitez. "For me I am really pleased with Bellamy and John scoring these goals and also pleased for the team too. "The players have done a very good job, we were training and working very hard to prepare for this game and to play Barcelona is not easy. I think that the team was very good at playing counter-attack. "At the end of the day we need to play another game, I don't want to say that everything is done. We need to be careful and think about the next game also."