Steve Gerrard confident Liverpool will still reach Champions League final

Steven Gerrard believes there is only one statistic that matters in next week's Champions League showdown - Liverpool's incredible European away record.

Much has been made of the fact the Merseyside club have yet to score at Stamford Bridge during manager Rafael Benitez's reign, an embarrassing run of eight games without a goal.

Chelsea believe they are now massive favourites to make the final in Moscow after their late, late equaliser in the first leg at Anfield. But Kop hero Gerrard has other ideas.

The Liverpool skipper insists that his opponents can talk all they like about statistics but they cannot easily dismiss his side's indomitable spirit in this competition.

And he warned too that Liverpool have never visited Stamford Bridge with their main striker Fernando Torres leading the line.

"We have an incredible record in Europe away from home and that is the key statistic, not the one about how we never score at Stamford Bridge," said Gerrard (below).

"And those statistics don't take into account that we haven't been to Stamford Bridge yet with Fernando Torres in the team - believe me, that could make a difference.

"You wouldn't put it past him to get that all-important away goal that could end up taking us through.

"I could see on his face how disappointed he was at not scoring in the first leg but that's how he is. I think he expects to score every game and, to be fair, he has more often than not.

"Even though he didn't punish Chelsea it was still apparent at Anfield how he causes real problems for defences and it will be the same down there."

Liverpool haven't scored at Stamford Bridge since May 2003 but as Gerrard points out, his side have an incredible record in the Champions League, and they have built that legend on some resilient away form.

The skipper believes that it is Liverpool's ability to get results on their travels in Europe that has got them to three semi-finals in four years.

And he points to wins at the likes of Barcelona and Inter Milan as evidence that they can get the result required at Chelsea next Wednesday.

Liverpool have scored in all six of their Champions League games away from home this season, winning three times and snatching a 1-1 draw at Arsenal.

Nothing less than victory would do to take them through in the final group game at Marseille - and they won 4-0. It is a record which gives Gerrard massive confidence.

"This season we have been to places like Inter Milan and Arsenal and scored so I don't see why we can't do the same at Stamford Bridge. There is a real confidence we can do it," he said.

"Our record away from home is good because we just never knows when we are beaten.

"We have done it before often enough. People might think Chelsea are almost there but we have pulled it out of the fire so many times in the Champions League.

"We seemed to be in this sort of situation virtually every step of the way in 2005. Time after time we came back to win it.

"We have pulled it off when the odds seemed stacked against us in so many rounds, not to mention the final, so there is no feeling at all here that we are out of it."

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