my liverpool fc

They have to try to win their three remaining matches in the group to go through and if they do that, they could even finish top. Will they? I don't know. Two of those games may be at home but they won't be easy. After Besiktas comes Porto and they are a really good team.

	Tough: Rafa Benitez's Liverpool have alot to do in Europe

But then Liverpool and Rafa Benitez have found themselves in difficult situations before and still managed to come through, so I am hoping they do so again. Nothing could have seemed less likely than Liverpool's comeback in the 2005 final against AC Milan, but look what happened that night in Istanbul.

We were 3-0 down at half-time and you can imagine the mood in the dressing room. We were deflated and shocked. If any of the players had said they thought we could turn it around, I don't think they would have been telling the truth.

You always hope in football, but the way the first half went, nobody could have believed we could do it. I certainly didn't see it changing. Watching Milan in the first 45 minutes was like watching Brazil at their best. The passing and movement couldn't have been bettered. What made the difference in the second half? A bit of everything. They took their foot off the gas but then you can't keep up that level for 90 minutes and, of course, Steven Gerrard scored, the fans got behind us and we started believing.

Some people credit me for changing it when I came on for the second half, but I wouldn't go that far. I just played my game and tried to help the team as I always did. I felt that, if we got a second, it would be game on and so it proved. We scored a third and eventually won on penalties.

It has also been said that had I been on from the start we wouldn't have had to come from behind. I certainly expected to play from the start but if I had started, we may also have lost and this would not have been talked about. What you have to say is that the manager made the right decisions because, in the end, we did win.

When it came to extra-time and then penalties we were the happier team because they thought they had won it already — as did everybody else. For us it was a bonus because we should have been sitting on the coach, driving away from the stadium with our heads down.

Everybody in our team could feel we had a golden opportunity. I could see it on the players' faces. There was not much talking, but we all knew that, if we didn't do it then, we may never do it.

The manager asked me if I wanted to take one of the penalties and I said yes. He then told me to take the first one. I scored and we went on to take the trophy. It was the most amazing night of my career and in a game of that importance, I doubt you will ever see anything like it again.

You could say it was a fluke and that Rafa is a lucky manager, but you have got to work hard and graft for your luck. If you look at his record, you will see it's not the only time he's pulled off a remarkable turnaround. It was a similar story in the FA Cup final against West Ham the following year.

Yes, you need luck at times, but I wouldn't put it all down to luck. Rafa is a very hard-working manager who knows a lot about the game. It helps, of course, when you have a player of Gerrard's capabilities. He scored the late equaliser in the FA Cup final and is an inspiration. He can make things happen and not many players have his pace and dynamism. He can make a goal from anywhere and score a goal from anywhere. Only one or two around Europe have his quality.

But he was taken off at Everton recently, which surprised a lot of people at the time. Then what happened? Liverpool won right at the end. So again the manager's decision produced the right result. The team is always bigger than one player and, hard as it was for Stevie to come off in a derby, they got the win.

Gerrard has made it clear he prefers to play in central midfield rather than on the right, which he sometimes does for Rafa. But I've told Stevie I think he is sometimes more valuable on the right because he has not got any defensive responsibilities.

If he's running back 40 yards to chase people down, he is wasted. Other people can do that. He could be using his energy going forward because that's when he is dangerous. At Liverpool we didn't have anybody else with that ability and with England it's pretty much the same.

Liverpool may have difficulty progressing in the Champions League this time, but I think England have every chance of having a team in the final again. Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United could all win their groups and I sense that this is the trophy Chelsea want above all.

If the past doesn't come back to haunt them, I wouldn't bet against them. I have never seen them play football as they played against Manchester City last week.

As Liverpool and United before them have proved, English clubs have a never-say-die attitude that European clubs fear and respect. German clubs never like to be drawn against English teams.

Despite that result at Stamford Bridge, we at City have to be happy with our start under Sven-Goran Eriksson. He has created a very good atmosphere and mood in the camp. There's great respect for everybody, from the kit man to the manager.

Every manager has his own ways and Sven is calm and quiet. That helps the players. We have come from behind a number of times which I don't think we did last season. We hadn't got the same quality last year, but now we do not panic. His character rubs off on the players. We don't get too excited when things go well. He doesn't shout or rant on the touchline, but then there is only so much you can do from the touchline. If you are well-prepared, you should be able to sit down and let the boys get on with it.

Sven's club record is fantastic but also his record for England was good. In the big tournaments, he lost against Brazil to a freak goal by Ronaldhino from 40 yards and lost on penalties twice, so I think the press have been a bit hard.

Should England not qualify for the European Championship, which is a strong possibility, maybe they will see what they lost. The players Sven has signed for City help me because I like to bring other players into play and we have players who can make things happen. Especially Elano. When I came to England to play for Newcastle in 1998 I couldn't have believed I would still be here now, but I've had great experiences in the English game and now I am enjoying my football with City. I've been asked whether I reminded Sven that I got him the England job by scoring that goal for Germany at Wembley in 2000, but not yet. Maybe I will…