Liverpool (0) v Standard Liege (0)REPUTATIONS, INCENTIVES and financial imperatives are at stake for Liverpool tonight and, in keeping with the magnitude of the occasion, Rafael Benitez dispensed with the niceties before their Champions League qualifying-round second leg against Standard Liege.

"Where do I want us to improve?" echoed the Liverpool manager as he spread his arms wide and abandoned the time-honoured tradition of accentuating the positives. "Everywhere. I want a massive improvement."

The Liege manager, Laszlo Boloni, has accused Liverpool of sleeping through the first leg against the champions of Belgium a fortnight ago, and the nightmare of failing to reach the lucrative group stage could become real for Benitez unless his players rouse themselves at Anfield.

Hence the unusual sight of a leading manager refusing to protect his joint league leaders yesterday and preferring to deliver the proverbial kick up the rear.

"I've been really disappointed with our performances this season and I have told the players that," he said. "I think we need to improve in every area in the second leg.

"We were lucky to leave Belgium with a 0-0. When you see the goal that wasn't given and the penalty, it could have been worse, and we were not a threat at all. But the positive is that it can be a wake-up call. The players must understand what a massive game this is."

Liverpool have now reached agreement with Espanyol on an €10 million deal for Albert Riera, and although Benitez insisted tonight's outcome would not influence his transfer budget - he must continue to sell before he can make any further additions to his squad - the cost of failure would be immense to the club and their manager.

The Champions League has been a consistent release for Liverpool under the Spaniard, with their three semi-finals leading to two final appearances in four seasons and funding Anfield's goodwill as well as much of his expenditure.

"The first thing is silverware. I like to talk about trophies, that is the main thing," the Liverpool manager added, "but the Champions League is also about money and you have to take the two things together. But we are here to win titles, not to make money. I always tell my players that if they win games they win trophies, and then they will have higher wages and more money. It is the same for the club."

Benitez rates Liege as the strongest team Liverpool have faced at this third-round stage. "They are well organised, they have good players and they have quality. It will be a tough game for us because, when a smaller club faces a top side, they can play without pressure," he said.

Yet despite his warnings the manager remains supremely confident of progress, with the much-vaunted partnership of Fernando Torres and Robbie Keane the only exception to his damning critique of Saturday's fortunate defeat of Middlesbrough.

"That was their best game together so far. The understanding between them was much better, but the team didn't play well and all the attention went to Carra (Jamie Carragher) and (Steven) Gerrard because of their goals."

Liverpool are without the Olympians Javier Mascherano and Lucas Leiva tonight, having elected not to include their Argentinian and Brazilian midfielders on the initial 25-man squad list. "You have to put eight British players on the list and we had to decide before the first leg," Benitez explained. "So we considered who might be in the final and left Javier and Lucas out."

Liege, like Liverpool, have opened their domestic season with two victories and Dieu Mbokani has scored four times. They can also welcome back defender Oguchi Onyewu from his first-leg suspension. The coach, however, accepts Liege are the underdogs.

"We'll give it our best, but if we somehow manage to get through it will rank as the biggest shock by a Belgian side in Europe for 40 years," the Romanian said. "All I keep hearing is how poorly Liverpool are playing at the moment, but when I looked at the Premier League table on Saturday night I'm pretty sure they were top with maximum points. That's some poor start."

Espanyol have given Riera 72 hours to complete his move to Anfield. The midfielder was the subject of a €15 million bid from Everton on Friday, but his insistence on joining Liverpool forced the Spanish club into a compromise, provided he agrees personal terms and completes a medical by the end of this week.

Guardian Service