Hellish bus ride unites Reds

It may have brought a large part of the World to a standstill, but Rafa Benitez believes Iceland's volcanic eruption has helped Liverpool forge new team spirit. The Reds have had to travel by bus to Madrid, a long 24 hour, 2000km journey, to play Atletico in a Europa League semi-final first-leg match on Thursday because of the ash cloud caused by the volcano. "It's been good. They will be tired but it can help team spirit when everyone has something in common,” said Benitez. "If you are on a plane for just one or two hours, everyone is just watching a film, on PlayStations or whatever. Now they're talking more and stuff like that, all together rather than just sticking in their normal groups. It is an experience but we can stick together and get to know each other a little bit better.”