Champions League: Liverpool want Euro glory more than £30m cash

Rafa Benitez insists Liverpool's £30million showdown with Standard Liege is not about money.

The Reds can kiss goodbye to that potential Euro jackpot if they fail to win at Anfield tonight and miss out on the Champions League.

Benitez is more concerned about keeping a live Liverpool's dream of lifting the European Cup for a sixth time, claiming silverware is more important than cash.

"The first thing for me is the silverware and the chance to win a trophy," said the Reds boss. "That's the main thing.

"After that the Champions League is also about money and you have to put both together. For me, we are here to win titles - not money. In football, always I say to my players that if they play well and win trophies, they will have better wages and more money.

"It is the same for this club. We have to win because it will be good for all these areas."

Nerves will be jangling if the unfancied Belgians score a potentially priceless away goal following a 0-0 first-leg stalemate.

But Benitez said: "I'm not nervous and I don't really get nervous. I'm just trying to concentrate and give the players advice."

Despite the Spaniard's attempts to ease some of the pressure on Liverpool, he knows failure to qualify for the group stages would blow a massive hole in the club's finances at a time when they are already struggling and must finance a new stadium.

Liverpool have everything to lose and little to gain in terms of prestige - a point not lost on Liege's coach, Laszlo Boloni, who has been dabbling in some mind games.

Boloni, who lifted the European Cup with Steaua Bucharest in 1986, is playing down his side's expectations, claiming it will be the biggest shock in Belgian football for 40 years if they win.

Benitez smiled when he read those comments and admitted: "Their coach is very clever. He said they have to do everything perfect and we have to be really bad for them to win.

"I've been in their position a lot of times with smaller clubs in Spain when you can play without any pressure.

"We know they are a good team - the best we have faced in the qualifiers - and we were lucky to draw 0-0 in the first game because we didn't play well. But if you said to me that we had to win at Anfield to go through in the Champions League, 100 times I would say yes."

Benitez's confidence is based on the belief that Liverpool can't be as bad as they were a fortnight ago when Liege hit the post and saw a penalty saved by Pepe Reina.

The Reds were a pale shadow of the side which has reached three semi-finals in the last four years.

Skipper Steven Gerrard said: "Sometimes you need a kick up the backside similar to the one we had against Liege.

"It was certainly a wake-up call for us and the best thing about it was that we didn't get beat. We know that at Anfield we can play a lot better. Liege will find it more difficult."

KOP'S POTENTIAL £30M CHAMPS LEAGUE KITTY:
* £12million for reaching the group stages
* Another £3million for making the last 16
* £4million for reaching the quarter-finals
* £5million for the semi-finals
* £6million for winning the final

PROBABLE TEAMS
LIVERPOOL: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Dossena, Kuyt, Gerrard, Alonso, Babel, Keane, Torres
STANDARD LIEGE: Aragon, Bonfim, Dalmat, Defour, Mbokani, De Camargo, Mikulic, Camozzato, Sarr, Felliani, Witsel

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