Apr 28 2008 by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post
JERMAINE PENNANT feels he is hitting his peak at the ideal time – as he tries to force himself to the forefront of Liverpool’s assault on European honours.
The winger started his third consecutive Premier League game at Birmingham City and inspired a fightback from two down to draw 2-2. That point was enough to secure Champions League qualification for next season, but Pennant is keen to play a prominent part in Liverpool’s attempts to win the trophy this season.
However, he admits that it is a tall order to expect manager Rafael Benitez to break up the attacking formation that has served him so well on the Continent this season and include Pennant in Wednesday’s semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge.
“It is a massive ask for the manager to pick me for the Chelsea game because the team have been doing very well,” said Pennant. “We’ll just have to wait and see – but if I am on the bench then I will still probably enjoy it.
“The manager has got wingers playing at the moment with Torres and Stevie G behind him but I can play on the wing – that’s my position.”
Pennant’s performance in Liverpool’s Champions League final defeat to AC Milan in Athens was a positive end to an erratic first season at Anfield after moving from Birmingham.
Since then, a combination of injuries and the emergence of new signings Ryan Babel, Yossi Benayoun and, of late, Dirk Kuyt in wider positions has limited Pennant’s involvement.
Saturday was only his 24th appearance but he feels ready to take on more major challenges.
“At the start of this season I was doing well and in there regularly on the back of that Champions League final,” added Pennant. “But injury kept me out for four months with a fractured shin and then a double hernia and then it is hard to jump straight back in when someone is in your position playing well.
“It is frustrating but it is down to the injury and I just have to get match fitness back. Not playing for four months, it is going to take a while to get my form back but in my last two or three games I have done well, and I look forward to next season now.
“I don’t get fazed in these big games – I look forward to them. Whatever team the manager puts out it is going to be a great game and I wish the manager all the best for it. All we have to do is score and keep a clean sheet at Chelsea and that would be us through. It is going to be tough but we all believe we can do it.”
A second-string Liverpool side seemed to be going through the motions against relegation-threatened City, as goals by Mikael Forssell and Sebastian Larsson left them 2-0 down 10 minutes into the second half.
But Pennant’s surge down the middle set up Peter Crouch to score in his third successive league game, then another mazy run created the space for Lucas to deliver the cross that led to Rahdi Jaidi’s own goal.
“I think the whole team stepped up their game not just me,” said Pennant. “We were 2-0 down and needed that point to clinch that fourth spot and guarantee Champions League football, which we have done.
“Credit to Birmingham, they are fighting against relegation and kept going all the way. At 2-0 down I think some people would have written us off but we kept going until that final whistle.
“If we had a bit more time I think we would have got a third.”
Benitez made nine changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Chelsea in the semi-final first leg last week, with retained players Pepe Reina and Martin Skrtel coming through unscathed on Saturday.
Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Dirk Kuyt were unused substitutes, while 30-goal top scorer Ferando Torres didn’t travel.
