JUST when Real Madrid seemed to be building an unassailable lead, with an unbeaten run stretching back three months, the champions have lost two away matches in a row, and suddenly the gap at the top has closed.

Less than 24 hours after Liverpool’s Champions League final failure, boss Rafael Benitez was already planning his clear-out.

Chile winger Mark Gonzalez admits he could be leaving Liverpool either permanently or on loan, after the Champions League Final.

Fulham 1 Liverpool 0

Liverpool warmed up nicely for the Champions League as they took a firm grip on third place in the Barclays Premiership.

Liverpool 2 Middlesbrough 0

Manchester City 0 Liverpool 0

PSV Eindhoven 0 Liverpool 3

At least one England striker still knows where the net is. After missing his country’s Euro 2008 qualifying double-header over the past week, Peter Crouch grabbed a hat-trick to give Liverpool revenge for the three defeats Arsenal had inflicted on them this season.

Manchester United produced a smash-and-grab victory at Anfield that could well see them clinch the title.

Liverpool 4 Sheffield Utd 0

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez must decide which of his front-line strikers plays against Chelsea at Anfield tomorrow.

DUTCH striker Dirk Kuyt would be happy to commit the rest of his career to Liverpool.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez will recall his big names for tomorrow‘s Premiership clash at bottom club Watford.

Liverpool forward Luis Garcia has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a serious knee injury against Arsenal in last night’s Carling Cup quarter-final at Anfield.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admitted he was surprised by the line-up opposite number Rafael Benitez fielded in last night‘s amazing Carling Cup clash that saw the Gunners reach the semi-finals with an emphatic 6-3 victory.

Liverpool 3 Arsenal 6

Liverpool 3 Bolton 0

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez made four changes for the New Year's Day Premiership visit of Bolton with striker Craig Bellamy the most notable absentee.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez will need to check on minor leg injuries to Steven Gerrard and Craig Bellamy before finalising his side to face Blackburn at Ewood Park on St Stephen's Day.

Liverpool brought in Danish defender Daniel Agger and midfielder Luis Garcia in place of Sami Hyypia and Mark Gonzalez from the side that won 3-0 at Charlton last weekend.

Harry Kewell admits he is frustrated by life on the sidelines but is still some way off making his Liverpool comeback.

Charlton 0 Liverpool 3

Charlton 0 Liverpool 3

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez admits the next month is an important one for his team but he will not be paying too much attention to the Barclays Premiership table.

Liverpool 4 Fulham 0

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will be restored to the starting line-up as manager Rafael Benitez makes five expected changes for the visit of Fulham to Anfield today.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez will recall Steven Gerrard, Jose Reina, Sami Hyypia and Steve Finnan to his squad against Fulham at Anfield tomorrow.

RAFAEL BENITEZ has thrown down the gauntlet to his strike force as Liverpool look to put their away-day misery behind them.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez will have Craig Bellamy back in his squad to face Wigan at the JJB Stadium and hopes Xabi Alonso also has a chance of being involved.

RAFAEL Benitez knows he can no longer be taken to task over his deployment of Steven Gerrard because his captain is Liverpool’s only fit central midfielder.

Harry Redknapp has called for his injury-hit Portsmouth players to at least go down fighting tomorrow against Liverpool at Anfield.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez will choose between defenders Jamie Carragher and Daniel Agger to partner Steven Gerrard in central midfield against Portsmouth tomorrow after Bolo Zenden becomes the latest addition to the club’s injury list.

Bolo Zenden will have a knee operation tomorrow that will rule him out of Liverpool’s plans until the new year.

A midfield injury crisis forced Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez into a major reshuffle against Manchester City.

LIVERPOOL boss Rafael Benitez believes his skipper Steven Gerrard does not fully realise how good he can become.

Rafael Benitez expects to have Craig Bellamy in his squad for tomorrow‘s clash with Manchester City at Anfield.

RAFAEL BENITEZ has called on his captain Steven Gerrard to shoulder the responsibility of leading Liverpool to glory despite the club’s injury nightmare.

Liverpool stars Steven Gerrard and Peter Crouch will tell you that their boss Rafael Benitez rarely dishes out praise to his stars.

Rafael Benitez revealed that Liverpool have paid a heavy price for winning Champions League group C with a 2-0 home win over PSV Eindhoven tonight.

Liverpool 2 PSV Eindhoven 0

Middlesbrough 0 Liverpool 0

Birmingham 0 Liverpool 1

Rafael Benitez has admitted Liverpool had to pay top price to get Jermaine Pennant in the summer.