'We have the quality to book Wembley trip'
Jordan Henderson insists Liverpool have the necessary qualities to book a trip to Wembley by overcoming Chelsea in their Capital One Cup semi-final tomorrow night.
The tie with the Barclays Premier League leaders is finely balanced following a 1-1 draw in the opening leg between the rivals at Anfield last Tuesday.
Eden Hazard handed Jose Mourinho's team an early advantage from the penalty spot that evening, but the response from the Reds was hugely impressive.
They dominated the second period and deserved more than just the equaliser produced by an exquisite dribble and finish from the returning Raheem Sterling.
Henderson therefore approaches the decisive return at Stamford Bridge with confidence as the target of silverware moves within reach for Brendan Rodgers' charges.
"It's a big opportunity for us going there on Tuesday," said the Liverpool vice-captain. "We need to defend like we have been and look to hurt them on the break.
"It would mean everything to get to a Wembley final. One of our big aims this season was to win a trophy and if we beat Chelsea, we won't be far away.
"We've been through some tough times this season but we have dug in and stuck together as a team. We've come out the other side.
"We've got great team spirit and if we play the way we can, then we can get a good result there.
"We have to be strong both physically and mentally against Chelsea, and I think we've shown that recently. We've shown that we can be physical when we need to be.
"We've been fantastic of late and hopefully we can keep putting in performances. We are growing as a team. Hopefully we can keep going from strength to strength."
Chelsea were eliminated from the FA Cup in dramatic fashion on Saturday, with Bradford City recovering from a two-goal deficit to record a 4-2 triumph at Stamford Bridge.
Henderson said: "I'm not sure whether Chelsea going out of the FA Cup will work for or against us. I'm sure they will just look to put it behind them.
"From our point of view, we took a lot of confidence from the first leg. We were a bit disappointed not to win the game but our confidence has really grown over the past month or two.
"The second leg might be a little bit different with Chelsea being at home. We know they might come straight at us from the off. They have some fantastic players but we are a good team and we've shown that of late."