UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINALS:THE CRESTFALLEN were in a hurry to leave the scene of their ordeal on Wednesday night. Fernando Torres swept past with a "don't even ask" glare for waiting reporters at Anfield, so none could inform the striker he had toilet paper stuck to his shoe, while Alvaro Arbeloa conducted interviews with a trouser leg of his suit tucked inside a sock.

Their swift exits were understandable, but it is how quickly Liverpool put the emphatic defeat to Chelsea behind them that will define their season.

If, as Alex Ferguson asserted, the loser of this Champions League quarter-final poses the greatest challenge to Manchester United’s Premier League title then Rafael Benitez appears prophetic in his pre-match boast that “Liverpool are the biggest threat now”.

Benitez and Ferguson rarely find common ground these days but the Liverpool manager must privately hope his Old Trafford adversary is correct with that prediction.

The Premier League has been the priority all season at Anfield and, without another stunning comeback, of which they are capable, at Stamford Bridge next Tuesday, it will be their only chance of silverware this term. Not that anyone at Liverpool dared dress the 3-1 reverse as a blessing in disguise, a phrase that cuts little ice at Anfield since it became Gerard Houllier’s mantra.

“It was bad in the dressingroom afterwards,” admitted the Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina. “It is a bad situation to lose 3-1 at home and it is going to be difficult, but we have to recover ourselves. I would say it is more or less 85-15 against us qualifying now, and it is going to be tough, but we won 4-1 at Old Trafford three weeks ago and we have it within us to do that again. It is good that we have another game in a different competition on Saturday, that is the best way to recover. We have to be absolutely ready to beat Blackburn, which is not going to be easy, especially with an early kick-off straight after a European game.”

The repercussions of the first-leg defeat are not confined to fears over Steven Gerrard’s fitness for Liverpool. Just as their triumph at Old Trafford has been cited as a psychological blow to United’s ambitions of the quintuple, so it is valid to consider that Chelsea’s dominance and margin of victory may have a similar impact on Benitez’s men.

Rarely, if ever, has the Liverpool manager been outmanoeuvred by an opponent in the Champions League as he was by Guus Hiddink on Wednesday, while their defence displayed all the vulnerability that Torres exposed in Nemanja Vidic.

Reina believes a psychological factor was at play against Chelsea, and nor did he spare the defenders whose customary protection in Europe withered under Didier Drogba’s intimidation. “They were the better team, simple as that,” said Reina. “We were not playing at our best, that is clear. We were playing too long, we were not dominating individual situations, we didn’t dominate at centre half mainly and they had a better shape and better movements than us.

“It was one of those days when the other team performs better. Chelsea’s performance didn’t surprise us, Chelsea are always good, but we were not at our level and that is why they were able to punish us. We made a great start, and probably because of that great start we were a little afraid of conceding a goal and our play got worse during the first half. When the score was level they were the better team and we couldn’t control them at all.”

Keeping self-belief will be essential for Benitez, who must also wrestle with the dilemma of who to rest – if anyone – for the physical challenge of Sam Allardyce’s team tomorrow. “Hopefully the result won’t affect our confidence too much,” said Lucas.

Liverpool’s defeat equalled their heaviest home defeat in Europe but Reina believes the resurgence that hauled them back into the title race can withstand the impact of Wednesday night. “We are Liverpool, and whoever plays has to be brilliant for the team,” he said. “We have to beat Blackburn because we cannot afford to lose any more points. We are not going to give up.”

Guardian Service