• Champions League

Rodgers fancies Liverpool's Champions League chances

Brendan Rodgers is pleased that Liverpool still have their Champions League fate in their own hands © Getty Images

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Brendan Rodgers has backed the Anfield crowd to inspire Liverpool to victory in their must-win game against Basel in two weeks time.

The manager took comfort from the fact that Liverpool's battling 2-2 draw away to Ludogorets kept their Champions League hopes alive and remained optimistic about progress for the knockout stages.

"It was always going to be a close group and we will settle for this position," said Rodgers. "I am happy to rely on us to play at Anfield in front of our own supporters and I really look forward to that.

"We haven't been good enough or consistent enough and that's my responsibility. But in the Champions League it's still in our hands."

Prior to kick off in Bulgaria, Rodgers had said Liverpool's season "starts tonight", and even though they conceded a late goal from a setpiece he was happy with the spirit shown.

Ancelotti backs Basel

• Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has warned his Liverpool counterpart not to expect an easy ride into the knockout stages.
• Liverpool need to beat Basel at Anfield in two weeks time if they are to make it through their group, but Ancelotti believes that Basel go into the encounter as narrow favourites.
• Ancelotti said: "Right now I think Basel are better than Liverpool. They have good fitness and are well organised. It won't be easy at Anfield but the Swiss have a little advantage."
• Ancelotti's team were given a thorough examination by Basel as they narrowly won courtesy of Cristiano Ronaldo's 26th goal of the season.

They had fallen behind in the opening stages after a Simon Mignolet error enabled the home side to profit, but turned the game around to lead 2-1 thanks to goals from Rickie Lambert and Jordan Henderson.

"To go a goal behind in this competition so early on, you really need a team that is together and I think the character of the team came out," Rodgers, who was worried about the how the goal may affect Mignolet, told Sky Sports. "Overall, the performance was one I was very, very pleased with.

"We are obviously disappointed about the goal at the end, but it is irrelevant. We need to beat Basel now in our last game [at Anfield], and when we went into the competition we probably looked at that game as the one that would see us through.

"We said before the game that this needs to be the night that changes our season, and for that we needed to show the character in the team."

The manager, who brought in Lucas Leiva and played Steven Gerrard in a more advanced role, added: "There are players [in the team] who I know what they are capable of. Lucas came into the team and was outstanding while in time the new players will adapt to how we work, we have set a standard here in the last two and a half years and so far this season, we have not lived up to it."

Striker Lambert echoed his manager's satisfaction with an improved performance, saying: "It was my first start in the Champions League, and it was brilliant to get off the mark and get us back in the game.

"I thought the performance was a lot better, and that was the main thing. We're devastated about the goal at the end, but it is still a good result.

"We knew if we got a draw today a win [in the next game] would get us through, and it's about getting through. But it was about the performance today -- win, lose or draw -- and the performance was a lot better today, I thought."

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