Rafael Benitez singled out Xabi Alonso and his battle against Keane: “Xabi is from the Basque country and they are no soft touch. They are very strong people. In northern Spain it is very similar to England in many ways. For a start it rains a lot more and there tends to be a lot more tackling in games. Players are always fighting for the ball more. There will be no problems with Xabi, he will play well. He has such a good mentality. Both he and Keane will know all about each other, they both play for their national teams. And if not, I’m sure Stevie Gerrard will have told him.”