Rafael Benitez and Jose Mourinho have never met though their first tete-a-tete appears destined to be combustive. The Spaniard has tired of Liverpool's supine approach. "We need to be more aggressive," he said, intent upon unearthing a mean streak.

Given Mourinho's livid reaction when Tottenham Hotspur metaphorically "parked a bus" in front of their goal recently, the Portuguese is presumably rehearsing his post-match moral outrage.

Where they might have first become acquainted in Monaco at the European Super Cup in August, last season's UEFA Cup and Champions League winning managers meet instead at Stamford Bridge tomorrow. At Chelsea, Russian money has bought Mourinho British spirit with an unbeaten start suggesting immediate dividends. On Merseyside, Benitez is having to coax out the required state of mind; his is a work in progress.

He has preached patience yet something snapped this week. In the steamy heat of Piraeus, Liverpool were bullied into submission by Olympiakos, brushed aside by a Greek side who harried and hassled effectively. Benitez was apoplectic as his own free-spirited players went unprotected and were snuffed out. The hosts won with a set-piece which was dubiously conceded and abysmally defended.

That, the Spaniard has decreed, must not happen again. "I was disappointed to watch what happened, but not shocked," said Benitez. "We didn't keep the ball, we didn't control the game and we lacked the right mentality. If you have players who play well with the ball and players who are aggressive when they are without the ball, then you have a team. But a lot depends upon the characteristics of a side.

"If a player has a good, giving mentality, it can be difficult for him to become a 'hard' person in the next minute. But that's what we need . . . Perhaps we lack a leader with Steven Gerrard injured, but if you don't have that in one individual you need to find a leader in the group - work as a team and the whole side can be a leader."

There were times when Liverpool appeared rudderless in Greece, their inability to grasp the zonal marking system. Chelsea thrive at free-kicks and John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho and Didier Drogba loom large, yet to concentrate solely on the merits of Benitez's tactics may be missing the point. Liverpool need steel regardless of whether they man-mark or pick up space.

In the Mestalla, Benitez had Roberto Ayala, David Albelda and Amedeo Carboni whose snapping allowed Pablo Aimar or Ruben Baraja to revel. Even after a handful of training sessions on Merseyside, the Spaniard had clocked why this Liverpool side had finished 30 points shy of Arsenal last term.

Mourinho, and Drogba in particular, may wince at the thought. The Ivorian was crunched early by Ayala in last season's UEFA Cup final and drifted out of the match. It will be up to Jamie Carragher or Sami Hyypia to maintain that tradition.

"I think, even with some influence from foreign managers, coaches and players, it is the British football and mentality that is always dominant here," said Mourinho, whose side are gritty with two goals conceded in his nine games in charge. "These are the first months of Rafael's life in England and he has to learn, like me.

"Set-plays are a very specific part of the game; sometimes it's a question of the defence. I think zonal defence in set-plays has good and bad things. Every tactical system - even ours - has weak points."

Roman Abramovich has ensured Mourinho has had the means to impose his character on his squad since arriving in England.

"It's easier if you've got the money to go into the market," added Benitez. "Imagine if you want to buy a jacket. If you have £1,000 you can buy a good jacket. But if you have £10,000 you can buy the best."

Liverpool have won only once at Stamford Bridge in 15 years. That was last season with a gritty performance; only with a similarly spiky approach does there seem any chance of a repeat.