Diarra warns of Gerrard threat

Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra has earmarked Steven Gerrard as the man his side must stop if the Spaniards are to overcome their 1-0 first-leg deficit against Liverpool and advance to the Champions League quarter-finals.

“Steven Gerrard is Liverpool’s best player. He’s got it all. Very few players have comparable strength, power and skills,” Diarra said on Monday as he looked forward to Tuesday’s showdown at Anfield.

The former Portsmouth player, who joined Real in the January transfer window, urged his team-mates “to remain cool and collected because we won’t go anywhere if we worry about all the surroundings” of Anfield, where the Kop will be in full voice.

“The fans are loud and do everything they can to help their team, so we have to block it all out and focus on playing.

“And I don’t need to mention players like (Fernando) Torres, who everyone at Madrid is already familiar with.”

Former Spurs coach Juande Ramos has guided Real to 10 wins in their past 12 matches in his short-term spell at the Bernabeu since replacing Bernd Schuster and said Monday his future does not depend on getting through this tussle against the club that beat his side in the 1981 final.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez’s on-off contract wrangle has seen him linked with a possible return to Spain, where he won the title with Valencia.

But Ramos says he is not feeling the heat.

“I still have three and a half months left on this contract, and I feel very comfortable about that.”

Ramos said he was not dwelling on individuals, Gerrard included, in his opponents’ line up as “Liverpool do not base their success on one individual and they always have a squad and strength in depth, it is never about just one player.”