Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez explained his decision to leave Javier Mascherano on the bench for last night's victory over PSV Eindhoven.

"He was okay to play," explained Rafa. "But we had four days between the last game and this one and Xabi Alonso and Lucas have been playing well so we didn't need him to do anything. We can now get him ready for the next game."

He added: "The important thing now is to calm down, keep doing the same things and try to keep winning matches."