Carra wants Liverpool spirit

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has called on his Liverpool teammates to display the same teamspirit that wrapped up the Champions League trophy in 2005.

Liverpool had 28 attempts on goal against Besiktas, but only after Steven Gerrard's late header did they look capable of a salvage operation.

Now Carragher says: "I do not accept that there was much wrong with our performance in Istanbul, we were just unlucky in their penalty box.

"We feel we did not get what we deserved. But look back to 2005 and the group stages. We did not do particularly well then, but ended up winning it.

"Now we must show that sort of spirit. We went to the last group game then and got ourselves out of it. So it looks like we are going to have to do the same again."

Back in 2005, Liverpool managed to lose two group games against Monaco and Olympiakos and claim a scrappy drawn with Deportivo la Coruna.

All seemed lost ahead of the final home game with Olympiacos, but a dramatic fightback with goals from Florent Sinama-Pongolle, Neil Mellor and Gerrard produced an historic comeback.

They ended up winning the trophy that season, and now Carragher accepts that it will take that level of heroics to see Liverpool through this crisis.

He said: "We are not thinking about the UEFA Cup, we are still going for it in the Champions League. Win three games and we are through.

"You want to stay in the Champions League because it is a bigger trophy, but we have got great memories of the UEFA Cup and if we end up there we will try to win that instead.

"We cannot be too disappointed, we played the right way and dominated in Istanbul."