Defiant Carragher insists Liverpool can still qualify

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher refused to concede his side's Champions League campaign is over despite a late lapse in Lyon which left their qualification hopes hanging by a thread.

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Andriy Voronin rues another missed chance

Lisandro Lopez's injury-time equaliser means Liverpool must win their last two Group E games to stand any chance - and even that will not be enough if Fiorentina beat Lyon in Italy later this month.

Carragher told ITV1: "We still believe we will get through. We know it's going to be difficult but we're not out of it yet. All we can do is win our next two games and see what happens.

"We have been in difficult positions before and we've come through like in 2005 when we had to win in Marseille in the group stages and we came through. It's disappointing but a draw doesn't mean we're totally out of it.''

Meanwhile, Carragher was quick to spring to the defence of beleaguered boss Rafael Benitez who is sure to come under more pressure following another setback for his out-of-form side.

Carragher added: "If you look at the manager's record in Europe we've won it and been to the final and semi-final and quarter-finals. So our Champions League record under the manager has been superb.''

Benitez was disappointed with the late equaliser after taking the lead through Ryan Babel only to see Lisandro score. He said: "To concede a goal in the last minute is really, really unlucky. With all the problems that we have it was a really positive response from the players.''

Of Babel's opener he added: "Ryan is this kind of player, he can change the game. The main thing is the reaction of the players, they were trying to win.''

Benitez's own position has been under threat during Liverpool's recent horror run, but when asked if he feared for his job, the Spaniard was quick to respond. ''No, I am only thinking about the next game, nothing else,'' he said.

Benitez, who also revealed that striker Fernando Torres played through the pain barrier for the 87 minutes he was on the pitch, remains hopeful his side can still progress even though the odds are stacked against them.

He said: ''We have to be really disappointed, we had so many chances and we were almost there. But again it was a late goal by Lyon, and it is a massive difference for us.

''Clearly it is difficult now, but not impossible. We have to win our next game in Debrecen and wait to see what the result is between Fiorentina and Lyon. We have to keep going and try to win. We have achieved miracles before and we can do it again.''

On his own feelings and the pressure he is under, Benitez said: ''It is simple for me to keep my head high, and that is by watching the players on the pitch and see their performances. Hearing the fans singing after the game because they know that we are improving and getting better.

''But football is like this, sometimes you have to have some luck and we did not have any luck at the end of the match. We were not caught out by them at the end, we were not caught on the break and had plenty of players in the box to defend. We just made a mistake, but not because we were thinking about attacking and caught out.''