By Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo
HARRY KEWELL believes Liverpool proved there's more to their squad than one key man by securing a 3-1 first leg win without skipper Steven Gerrard last night.
The Aussie winger made his first start for two months against Bayer Leverkusen, but later revived fears over his fitness by refusing to rule out the possibility of groin surgery.
Kewell's treatment sparked controversy in the build-up to the Champions League clash and the midfielder admits he's still not 100 per cent fit.
But, after playing his part in a thrilling victory at Anfield, Kewell believes the Reds have shown they can produce good football without relying too much on their talismanic skipper.
"People have their opinions on Liverpool and the focus is always on Stevie because he's a great player, but whether he's playing or not the team has to go out to do a job," said Kewell.
"It's not just Stevie, but lots of other world class players who were missing last night.
"There's Djibril Cisse, Fernando Morientes, Xabi Alonso and Chris Kirkland, too. This performance shows we have some depth in our squad. The gaffer has brought in some great players of his own and we all know what we can do as a team.
"Sometimes you go out there and everything comes off and sometimes not, but I can promise we always give 100 per cent. We are always together as a team.
People may knock us but we all stick together. "Last night we put in a good performance against a great team.
"It was disappointing to lose a goal at the end but if you would have asked us if we'd like a 3-1 win before the game, we would have taken it."
Kewell looks to have played his way into immediate contention for Sunday's Carling Cup Final with Chelsea. However, the saga of his groin injury clearly isn't over.
Yesterday, Benitez accused Australian boss Frank Farina of interfering by making outspoken remarks about Kewell's treatment.
Kewell says the club is doing everything it can to aid his recovery.
"The problem hasn't gone away. I'm going to have to sit down with the manager and talk about it," admitted Kewell.
"I still feel my groin, but everyone's doing their best to help me.
"It's up to the manager what happens on Sunday and whether I play.
"I was glad to be back but there are things I can improve on."
by