Gerrard will work his magic in UCL showdown, says Kolo Toure

Carl Markham 10:11 08/12/2014
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  • Magician: Kolo Toure believes Steven Gerrad will bring European glory against Basel in the Champions League.

    Liverpool defender Kolo Toure believes their forthcoming must-win Champions League encounter against Basel is made for Steven Gerrard to create “magic” again.

    – Steven Gerrard coy over Liverpool contract talks

    The Reds captain will return to the starting line-up tomorrow having been rested in Saturday’s goalless draw at home to Sunderland.

    Brendan Rodgers’ side have to beat the Swiss to progress to the knockout stage, and Toure believes Gerrard is the man who can  really make a difference.

    And, in light of Rodgers’ judicious use of his 34-year-old captain this season, the Ivorian insists the midfielder’s class is such that he does not need a full match to impact games.

    “He is a man for great days. He makes the magic when no-one can make it. That is why he is one of the best players in the world,” he said.

    “His age is nothing. People just keep talking, but if you have a player like that in your dressing room it is very important with his experience.

    “Players like that don’t need 90 minutes to make the difference – only 20 or 30 minutes – and I am really happy to have him as a captain first and as a man because he is a great player.”

    Having been frustrated by Sunderland, Toure admits the Reds will have to be more adventurous than their recent performances – which have all been about regaining some defensive stability.

    “The team has had to settle defensively first and, because we have been conceding some goals, it was important to get back to 
    basics,” he added.

    “It has been working well for us but not against Sunderland, but we will take risks against Basel because we have to put them under pressure and win the game.

    "It is a must-win game – it is like a final. We will take some risks to win the game.”

    Meanwhile, Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre has admitted players’ use of social media “is a problem” in the wake of the controversy surrounding striker Mario Balotelli.

    The Italian was charged by the Football Association on Friday following allegedly racist and anti-Semitic comments on social media.

    Balotelli reposted an image of computer game character Super Mario on Instagram earlier this week, which included the words “jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew”.

    He apologised for any offence caused, but is now set to face a ban, and Ayre said: “Given the choice we’d love to keep all our players away from social media because it really is a problem.”

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