Aurelio says Benitez raged at half time in Fiorentina

Fabio Aurelio has admitted that manager Rafael Benitez's mood in the dressing room at half time during the Fiorentina game was the most annoyed the player has ever seen the coach. Aurelio is well placed to assess Benitez's temper having served under him a Valencia before joining him at the Reds.

“That was the most annoyed we have seen the manager but we all were,” said Aurelio in the Telegraph.

“We all felt like that after the first half and that’s why you saw a better performance in the second.

“But we didn’t need harsh words at half-time – we all knew that we were not playing well and that we had to be much better.

“In the second we were a different side and if it had been like that from the start it could have been a different result.”

“In football you always have a chance to put it right and turn things to your favour and ours comes at Chelsea on Sunday.”

“It’s a good opportunity for us to get over the disappointment of losing to Fiorentina.

“It is a very important game in the Premier League, against a very strong side, and we have to recover from this result straight away and have the confidence we can do a good job again.

“We have to fight really hard to take the points.

“It’s important to get something against the top sides. We are scoring more goals at the moment but you must keep improving if you want to win trophies.”

Rafa describes Fiorentina defeat as Liverpool's worst performance in 5 years

Rafael Benítez has described the 2-0 defeat against Fiorentina as Liverpool's worst performance in his time at the club, as Liverpool were rocked by two first half strikes from teenager Stevan Jovetic. The Reds were slow to start and the fast passing Tuscany side were clearly Happy to take advantage of the Anfield clubs sluggish opening 45 minutes, impressing several punishing moves, converting twice.

"Our mentality in that opening period was just not right, we were bad all over the pitch and I cannot really recall a performance like that," said Benítez in the Telegraph.

“The first half was the worst performance I have seen in my time here. We were doing everything wrong. Fiorentina pressed us well and made us make mistakes. When you make mistakes at this level, you get punished. I was not happy with the challenging all over the pitch in the first half. The mentality was not good enough. We were too nervous. They did well, but we did everything badly.”

"We now have Chelsea away at the weekend in an important Premier League game. I believe you will see a different Liverpool in that match, a totally different performance with a different mentality.

"Then we have Lyon home and away in this group, they are the leaders and it means we have to now win them both.

"We certainly will not be as bad again. If you make too many mistakes against such sides, you will be punished. It is very simple.

"Mentally we will have better days than this. We did improve, but we needed to score early in the second-half. We had the chances but we failed to take them."

Fiorentina coach and former Juventus player Cesare Prandelli said: "We were fantastic, that is the best performance I have seen by a Fiorentina side in the four years I have been in charge.

"Liverpool did not play well, but that was because of the performance of my team. We were outstanding."

Fury as fans are moved to accommodate UEFA sponsors

"Hundreds of Anfield season ticket holders turned up for the Champions League against Debreceni on Wednesday to find they had been moved to accommodate sponsors’ guests," reports the Mirror.

Liverpool fan Keith Ross, a season ticket holder in the Lower Centenary Stand, said: “I was given a seat in the corner at the Anfield Road end and couldn’t see a thing. Lots of us were moved and we were all unhappy."

“There were a few angry scenes with the stewards.

“It’s the first time I’ve been moved and I had no idea I’d end up there.

“It was a restricted view and just not good enough.

“What made it worse was that there were a lot of empty seats in the corporate area.

“They were obviously more interested in the hospitality than the football.

“I’ve been a season ticket holder for nine years.

“I have two tickets that cost me £1,400-a-season.

“I go to every match home and away and follow the club all around the world.

“If this is what it’s going to be like from now on, I won’t be going to any more home games in the Champions League. In fact, I’m thinking of cancelling my season ticket for next season.”

Liverpool, along with all Champions League clubs, must provide seating and hospitality lounges for sponsors and their guests, however according to this story by Derick Allsop it appears to come at the expense of loyal supporters. The story adds that UEFA's "demands have increased, forcing Liverpool to move 2,000 fans from their regular seats."

A club spokesperson said: “It’s the first time Mr Ross has been allocated another seat because UEFA have extended the number of seats they require this season."

“It’s a requirement of all clubs participating in the Champions League, as set out in the UEFA charter.”

The article adds: "Liverpool officials admit they are unlikely to find a satisfactory solution until they have a new stadium."

Reds Champions League squad announced

Liverpool have announced their 28-man Champions League squad. Youngsters Nathan Eccleston, David Amoo and Martin Kelly have all made the grade, ensuring the Reds fulfill the UEFA quota for home-grown talent. However there is no place for right-back Philipp Degen.

The Reds kick off the group stage at home to Debreceni on September 16.

Champions League squad: Cavalieri, Reina, Martin, Johnson, Agger, Aurelio, Kyrgiakos, Insua, Carragher, Darby, Kelly, Skrtel, Dossena, Aquilani, Gerrard, Benayoun, Mascherano, Leiva, Spearing, Plessis, Riera, Torres, Voronin, Kuyt, Babel, Ngog, Amoo, Eccleston.

The Champions League group draw

The draw for the Champions league group stage has been made in Monaco today. Liverpool head up Group E and will face: French giants Lyon, Serie A side Fiorentina and Hungarian outfit Debreceni. The Reds have never previously met the three sides in European competition but Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is releshing the chalenge:

"You know in the Champions League there will always be difficult games and tough teams to play against," said Benitez on the official site.

"Lyon might not have won the league last season but before that they won it many years in a row, so we know they have lots of good players who can play good football.

"Fiorentina are an historic club in a nice city. I know from experience they have fanatstic supporters because I spent some time there when Claudio Ranieri was the coach.

"And we have experience of Hungarian football because of our relationship with MTK, so if Debreceni have won their league then we know it means it's because they're a good side.

"The important thing as always is that the travelling isn't too bad, we don't have too far to go for any of the games. We're just looking forward to starting the competition now."

Matchday 1: 15th/16th September
Matchday 2: 29th/30th September
Matchday 3: 20th/21st October
Matchday 4: 3rd/4th November
Matchday 5: 24th/25th November
Matchday 6: 8th/9th December