Agger: Deal me in, Rafa

DANIEL AGGER is desperate to pen a new long-term contract at Liverpool.

The Danish centre-back, 23, has been a regular in the Reds' starting XI since Martin Skrtel was injured earlier this season.

And, after another fine performance in the 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid last night, Agger said: “Of course, I will see what they will offer me but I want to stay here for a long time.”

Kop boss Rafa Benitez has revealed he wants Agger and striker Dirk Kuyt to sign new deals.

He said: "Agger is very close and he is talking with the club.

"There is no news yet with Kuyt but he is another player that I would like to get done as soon as possible. They have to be done before the new year.

"In each team you need people with quality, that work hard and with a good character.

"I want to do it as soon as possible because it is better for them and better for the club."

Liverpool deal collapses

LIVERPOOL’S Yank owners were stunned after a shock Arab takeover collapsed.

George Gillett and Tom Hicks held secret talks with a new Middle East consortium — and were willing to sell the club for less than £500million.

Talks were so advanced that due diligence, the process of going through the Anfield accounts, took place last month.

The accounts even forecast the Kop outfit would make a projected profit of £45million by the end of this season — a claim city experts believe is totally unrealistic.

But Hicks and Gillett were left empty-handed when the Arabs dramatically walked away at the 11th hour.

The news puts the Americans under intense pressure to accept the £500m offer still on the table from Dubai International Capital, who have a long-held interest in buying the club.

Hicks and Gillett borrowed £350m from the Royal Bank of Scotland to help them buy Liverpool but that deal expires in January.

And with the bank already a major victim of the credit crunch, there is a danger the Americans will fail to get the loan deal they need to remain owners of the club.

That could let in DIC, who have pledged to invest heavily in Liverpool’s new stadium, currently put on hold by the cash-strapped Yanks, and the playing squad.

Gerro is fall right by us

RAFA BENITEZ defended Kop skipper Steven Gerrard as Atletico were left seething by a controversial last-gasp penalty.

Gerrard won a soft spot-kick in the fourth minute of stoppage time when he went down under the challenge of Mariano Pernia.

The Reds ace fired home and boss Benitez insisted: “It would have been a free-kick in the middle of the pitch so in the box it is a penalty.

We have to be disappointed we haven’t won either game against Atletico but we have one more point.

“We were talking before about the character of the team. That’s five or six times we have come back from behind.

“In the end we are happy to get a point but it’s disappointing we had to leave it right until the end.”

Gerrard said: “I got to the ball first and headed it. If it had been outside the box it would have been a free-kick, so it was a penalty.

“It was a big point for us and it means we stay at the top of the group. We showed our character by coming back.”

Atletico coach Javier Aguirre said: “I was a long way from the incident.

“I’m not in the habit of criticising referees and I’m not going to change that now.”

Liverpool are behind Atletico on goal difference at the top of Group D and can clinch a place in the knockout stages against Marseille in three weeks.

They had a frustrating night after falling behind to a 37th-minute strike from Maxi.

Fernando Torres failed to face his old club but should be fit for Saturday’s West Brom clash after a hamstring injury.

Liverpool 1 Atletico Madrid 1

IF the old saying about needing luck to win trophies holds any water, Liverpool are certainly using up theirs by the bucketload.

Less than three months into the season and already Rafa Benitez’s boys are turning The Great Escape into a long- running series.

Deep, deep into stoppage time the Reds were heading for a Champions League choker after blowing every chance they created and getting a boot in the you-know-whats off the referee as well.

But just as Atletico were preparing to celebrate a famous victory, Swedish official Martin Hansson gave the worst decision of a totally inept night — and Liverpool were out of jail.

Skipper Steven Gerrard was jumping more in hope than expectation when he challenged Mariano Pernia for a wickedly bouncing ball in the 94th minute.

There was contact, but it was minimal — yet the referee, who had dropped clangers all evening, pointed to the spot, sparking a storm of protest from Atletico.

Gerrard kept his cool to drill home and strictly speaking you could not argue with the justice of the outcome itself.

But you could certainly argue with the manner it came about.

Atletico most definitely did, as Pernia, Johnny Heitinga and Sergio Aguero were all booked for complaining.

Benitez: We can still win the title

RAFA BENITEZ insists Liverpool still have the belief to win the league.

The Kop boss said: “We have a quality. We have the mentality to win titles but we need to take our chances.

“Chelsea have shown since we beat them that they are a good team and we have to do the same.

"We have to show our character and fight back. In football you can always lose games but the question is how.

To lose a game like this is really disappointing but we don’t have to be worried about the performance, the character or the quality of the team.

“I am really disappointed but it was bad luck because everybody could see we were better than them.

“As a team we were really good but we need to take our chances. That makes the difference in a game like this.”

Benitez is also confident star striker Fernando Torres is over a hamstring problem and will be fit to feature — on the subs’ bench, at least — in tomorrow’s Champions League home clash with his former club Atletico Madrid.

The Spaniard added: “We have an important game on Tuesday and maybe Torres will start or will be on the bench.

“When a player is injured for a while he is desperate. He did not play in the first game against Atletico so he is keen.”

Tottenham 2 Liverpool 1

AT one of those numerous awards bashes which mark the end of the season, a category should be introduced for the most stupid fan in English football.

The competition would be pretty hot, admittedly.

But there’s no doubt that a few of the front-runners would be wearing the colours of Tottenham Hotspur: The men who left White Hart Lane at 7.15pm on Saturday.

You would have thought that a certain event at The Emirates three days earlier was a lesson for those who duck out early.

When Aaron Lennon thumped the ball past Manuel Almunia to make it 4-4 in the North London derby, thousands of fans from both teams had already left the ground and were on their way to the tube.

Yet while they were less in their numbers, there were still a few supporters who had headed for the exits before Roman Pavlyuchenko flicked the ball past Pepe Reina in the 90th minute for a thoroughly undeserved — but spectacular — victory.

Presumably, the supporters who couldn’t last the distance had something very important to go to. Maybe they were going home to pick up the missus before going to watch Quantum of Solace. However, you can bet they would have left five minutes before the end of the film.

Yet Pavyluchenko’s winner not only proved that Harry Redknapp has waved a magic wand over N17, it also illustrated Liverpool have yet to fulfil a basic requirement for any team with realistic hopes of winning the title.

Top teams win when they play badly, something Liverpool have done this season. Yet Premier League champions also put away teams when they are playing well.

For an hour against Tottenham, Liverpool were outstanding. They were solid but also enterprising when they needed to be.

The visitors should have been as many as five goals to the good. And yet they lost.

To quote the great Iain Dowie, their ‘bouncebackability’ will be tested against Atletico Madrid tomorrow night and then against West Brom in the league on Saturday.

Had Jamie Carragher not headed into his own net to give Spurs an equaliser, then Liverpool would surely have closed the game out as Tottenham had offered very little until then. Awesome in defence until that moment in the 70th minute,

Carragher said: “That’s the Premier League for you. Credit to Spurs but we were in total control. We should have got a second or third goal but if you don’t do that Spurs have definitely got quality going forward.

“I’m disappointed to score the own goal. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if I was unlucky or what. Even then 1-1 isn’t too bad at Spurs. It’s not an easy place to go, even though they’re in a bad situation. We are more than disappointed to concede a goal in the last minute.

“Normally when you’re in such control you go on to win the game but you have to give credit to Tottenham for showing character and sticking in there and the effect Harry Redknapp has had. But we probably should’ve finished it off.

“Look how Chelsea have reacted since we beat them and how Man United reacted when they lost to us. They’ve been on a great run since. It’s how you come back from your setbacks. If you want to show you’re a championship contender, it’s how you bounce back.

“Before Mourinho came to Chelsea you could get away with losing five or six but now it seems to be three or four. The standards are so high. You can’t afford to lose too many.”

After West Brom visit Anfield, Liverpool have winnable matches against Bolton, Fulham, West Ham, Blackburn and Hull. The return of Fernando Torres will obviously be a massive plus.

Carragher admitted: “If we play as well as we can we should go on to win those games but, in the past, we’ve come unstuck in those games and it’s important we get maximum points now.”

After their incredible comeback against Arsenal, you expected Spurs to come racing out of the blocks — yet Dirk Kuyt ended those hopes when smacking the ball past comedy keeper Heurelho Gomes in the third minute.

Steven Gerrard hit the woodwork twice, while Kuyt and Xabi Alonso missed golden chances before Carragher scored for Spurs.

Then, the drama was complete when Reina made a great one-handed save from David Bentley only for Darren Bent to square the ball for Pavlyuchenko.

Asked what technical advice Redknapp gave to Pavyluchenko in the dressing room at the break, the Spurs boss said: “I told the interpreter to make sure he f*****g ran about — and it worked!”

Rafa: We can win title

RAFA BENITEZ says Liverpool’s win at Chelsea proves they are title contenders.

The Reds boss said: “We have the quality and the mentality to fight against the top sides and anyone else.

To win at Stamford Bridge was a really difficult thing to do and it sends a massive message to the other teams of what we can do and tells our fans what we are about.

“We can go to any stadium and win games.

“Today, against a very good team, a very offensive team, we showed we were thinking about winning.

“The players know what to do and it was difficult for the opposition to create chances.

“Chelsea had some chances but their final pass was not the best on occasions.”

Xabi Alonso’s deflected 10th-minute strike was enough to send Liverpool three points clear at the top. It also put an end to Chelsea’s 86-match unbeaten home record in the league — a run that began in February 2004.

Benitez, chasing the Reds’ first title in 19 years, added: “To come here with the mentality, showing the character the players showed, it was a big boost for the rest of the season.

“We have belief, we have quality, we showed coming from behind in the other games that we had character.”

Liverpool, who have also seen off Manchester United this season, will look to keep up their charge against Portsmouth at Anfield on Wednesday.

The Spaniard said: “We must start thinking about Portsmouth, we know we need to get three points against them if we want to keep with this mentality and momentum.

“After all, we were criticised for beating Manchester United and then drawing with Stoke so we have to be different now.

“Clearly, if you want to stay at the top of the table for a long time you have to beat almost everyone because Chelsea, United and Arsenal will be behind you.”