Benitez: We need an early goal

Rafael Benitez accepts that Liverpool's Champions League future is on the line as he prays for the early breakthrough he believes will dictate tonight's clash with last season's beaten finalists, Monaco.

Rafael Benitez: Good start vital (NealSimpson/Empics)

The Liverpool boss feels the game will be a cat and mouse showdown, with the team that scores first the one who should go on to win. If Liverpool do win the Group A match in the Stade Louis II, they will definitely be in the second phase which starts in the new year.

Any other result will leave them clinging to the hope that they can clinch qualification in their final group match at home to Olympiacos next month.

Benitez said: 'It is so important to score first, the team that does that can dictate the game. If you score early on, it means the opposition must come out and attack and that leaves space to exploit.

'If you concede an early goal you have to go at the opposition and that can leave you vulnerable at the break with space left to exploit.'

Benitez, along with his counterpart Didier Deschamps of Monaco, also sees Steven Gerrard's return as the key to the match.

Benitez said: 'Stevie is vital to us. His place in the side gives us a competitive side and leadership. We have missed him and we hope that his return can have a major influence on this game.

'It would be good to win and to qualify here, that means we will be able to relax and plan for the next game without fear.'

Deschamps admitted his fears that Gerrard's return for Liverpool could be the key to the match.

Monaco's coach - once derided as a mere 'water carrier' midfield player by Eric Cantona - sees in Gerrard the quality and style that could send Liverpool into the second phase at his team's expense.

Deschamps took Monaco to the Champions League Final last season and he sees Gerrard - back after eight weeks out with a broken foot - as the one man who can significantly influence this showdown on the Riviera.

And Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann, whose long-term Anfield future could be dictated by Gerrard's return, agrees with the Frenchman.

Deschamps said: 'Obviously Steven Gerrard is a great player and leader. He is charismatic and a big influence on their team. When he is back in their side he is good for their team.

'He has quality, is a typical modern player and has great technical ability. His return is important for Liverpool and is a problem for us.'

Last week Gerrard made his tentative 44-minute comeback in a Liverpool reserve match at Telford against Wolves' second string.

And he finds himself, after a second-half appearance in the Premiership defeat at Middlesbrough, thrust into the limelight by both camps as the key to this group amid the glamour of Monte Carlo.

Hamann, who may well lose his central midfield place to Gerrard, said: 'It is never good to lose your captain, we all know how important he is to our team. He has looked great in training and it is very good to have him back in the squad.

'He is a very influential player, great going forward and we have been lacking goals recently so his return will be a great boost for the team. He can make goals and score goals and his return will certainly add something to the team that has been missing over the last few weeks.'

Gerrard can't wait to return to action and said: 'I hate injuries more than anyone, I had them when I was younger but over the last few seasons I've had a good run. I hate watching football and I don't bother to read the papers.

'I don't read match reports because you know whether you have played well or not. And watching the Champions League on TV is difficult because I want to be part of it all. Hopefully from now on my season will be injury-free and I can contribute to Liverpool's season on all fronts.

'I have had a good rest these past eight weeks so I should be in top form when I return, that is the positive I can take from this injury rest.'