Houllier puts brave face on Valencia defeat

LIVERPOOL retreated from their humiliation in Valencia with boss Gerard Houllier telling his troops of the ‘‘benchmark’’ they must achieve to stay in the Champions League.

Liverpool were humbled 2-0 by the La Liga title holders and twice recent European Cup finalists on Tuesday night. No English team has even scored in the Mesalla in this competition and the last English side to win there was 36 years ago Leeds, the victors in the old Fairs Cup.

Liverpool knew the challenge would be tough, but Houllier was not expecting such a disappointing display from his team. With next week's crunch at home to Basle now on the horizon, Houllier said: ''We know what the benchmark is now and we know what we have to aspire to in the future to be successful in Europe.''