Lucas on the offensive

It was a moment which underlined the rush of confidence sweeping through Rafa Benitez's side.

Lucas Leiva embarked on a dazzling run into the penalty box. Lille defender Adil Rami clumsily upended him, Steven Gerrard netted from the spot and Liverpool were on course for a place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

Having made way for Alberto Aquilani against Portsmouth, Lucas impressed on his return to the heart of the Reds' midfield on Thursday night.

The Brazilian relished the chance to play in a more advanced role and deserved the plaudits that rightly came his way.

Lucas, like many of his team-mates, looks rejuvenated ahead of tomorrow's lunchtime showdown at Old Trafford, although the 23-year-old fears he may never win over his fiercest Anfield critics.

"I felt I did well but I know some people will not ever turn to my side," he said.

"I guess I have to play for the people who believe in me and who like me. I'm just trying to keep focused and keep working.

"Maybe 80% of my time in Liverpool has been difficult for me but when I came here I learned to take just the positive things. If you focus on the negatives maybe you won't improve.

"Sometimes people just don't understand why I'm not going forward all the time. A lot of times I have to help out defensively rather than attack.

"But against Lille I was able to get forward more when I felt the time was right. The manager just said they were good on the counter attack with quick players so we had to be careful.

"But it was important we got forward as we needed goals. It was good to win the penalty early on to give us an advantage.

"Maybe I can't do that every game as it's not my usual style but with confidence every player can do more and more."

A desperately disappointing season had reached a new low following back-to-back defeats to Wigan and Lille.

A fuming Benitez was forced to publicly question his players' attitude and desire but the response has been emphatic.

Hopes of silverware and Champions League qualification are still alive and Lucas admits the revival has been timely ahead of the clash with the champions.

"This season has had so many ups and downs - great victories mixed with disappointing defeats," he added.

"We knew it would be difficult against Lille and that we had to take some risks, but in the end we played really well, scored three goals and deserved to go through. After the second goal we managed the game well and then the third goal killed it off.

"The last two performances have been really good with seven goals scored and just one conceded.

"Now we have to keep going and we hope the end of this season will be good for us.

"We're still in the race for the top four and in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

"We have two months to go and a lot of games to play.

"This week we've shown we have the quality to be fighting until the end of the season. We have to keep believing."

Lucas is only too aware that the Reds will have to step up another gear tomorrow.

Title-chasing United are desperate to halt a run of three straight defeats to their arch rivals and prevent Liverpool completing a second successive league double over them.

The stunning 4-1 hiding Benitez's men dished out at Old Trafford last March still hurts. It was United's heaviest home defeat for 17 years and Liverpool's biggest win there since 1936.

Lucas played a key role in that triumph after being called up to replace the injured Xabi Alonso.

And he helped pile more misery on United when he laid on the second goal for David Ngog in the Reds' 2-0 win at Anfield back in October.

"The game at Old Trafford last season was special," he said.

"At that time I was playing more as a substitute but Xabi got injured after the Real Madrid game so I played.

"We had a great feeling that day and I thought I played well against them, but what's happened in the past is history.

"Each game is different but what those games do show is that we are capable of beating them.

"United are playing really well and have many good players - we know how difficult it will be.

"We have to go there, stay focused and try to win. We have enough quality to get the three points.

"If we can do the same as last season we will be delighted."

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.