Liverpool where knocked off the top spot by Manchester United on Saturday and striker Fernando Torres urges his team-mates not to slacken off the pace. "This year there is a clear sense that the league is our target," Torres said in the Sunday Mirror.

"The only way is to have confidence in yourselves - maybe by stringing three or four wins together.

"You also have to remember the next few weeks will go a long way to deciding how the season pans out. Now is really the time to step up a gear."