Liverpool are understood to have rejected a £110 million bid by the Rhone Group which would have seen the New York-based investment fund take a 40 percent controlling stake in the English Premiership club.

The UK press reported on Tuesday that the Monday deadline given by the fund passed with no positive response from the Anfield club. The proposal is thought to have been scuppered by the amount of control the group wanted to exercise for their stake in the club.

According to the SportBusiness website, Rhone are now thought to have withdrawn their offer, although may be prepared to reopen talks later should Liverpool approach them.

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Rafael Benitez has warned his faltering Liverpool stars that nothing short of a perfect finish to the season will do if he is to make good his promise of delivering Champions League football to Anfield.

Failure to make it into the lucrative competition would be potentially disastrous for American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks as they continue their attempts to find fresh investment in the club which will enable them to mount a serious challenge to Manchester United and Chelsea next season.

Qualifying for Europe’s premier club competition is also vital if they want to attract new players and retain the services of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, as well as Benitez himself, who remains on the wanted list of Real Madrid and Juventus.

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Liverpool‘s Fernando Torres has warned English Premier League defenders that there is still lots of room for improvement in his game.

The Spain international scored twice in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Sunderland, netting a brilliant opener with his smartly-taken second making it 18 goals in 21 Barclays Premier League appearances.

Glen Johnson’s deflected shot came in between those two strikes as Liverpool could easily have run out winners by six or seven goals such was their dominance, especially in a thrilling first half performance.

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Fernando Torres scored two goals as Liverpool delivered one of their best performances of the season to beat Sunderland 3 – 0 at Anfield on sunday.

After Tottenham Hotspur beat Portsmouth 2-0 on Saturday it was essential for Liverpool to keep in touch and they did it in style.

Spurs remained fourth on 58 points from 31 games with Liverpool fifth on 54 from 32. Manchester City, who have played only 30 and face Wigan Athletic on Monday, have 53 with Aston Villa on 51 from 31 after their 7-1 thrashing by Chelsea.

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Fernando Torres (2), Albert Aquilani and Ryan Babel all scored for Liverpool as they beat Portsmouth 4 – 1 last night at Anfield in their English Premier League encounter.

The summer signing, brought in after Xabi Alonso’s sale to Real Madrid, has struggled to adapt to life in England but was at the heart of everything in only his fifth Barclays Premier League start. It was the first time since they beat Hull City 6-1 on 26th September that Liverpool had scored more than two goals in a league match and that helped lift them to fifth in the table, a point behind Tottenham Hotspur having played one match more.

For Portsmouth the defeat ensured their 59-year winless run at Anfield continued but, considering their off-field problems, it will hardly have a defining impact on their season.

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Liverpool suffered a shock 0 – 1 defeat against Wigan Athletic on Monday night to deal their quest for finishing fourth in the Premier League a mighty blow.

Hugo Rodallega bagged the only goal for the game for the Latics in the 35^thminute when the Colombian forward steered Emmerson Boyce’s cross home from close range after Liverpool had conceded possession deep inside their own half.

The return of Glen Johnson as a second-half substitute was the only positive on a night to forget for the Reds at the DW Stadium.

The result leaves Liverpool sixth in the Barclays Premier League, a point behind top four rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, though both sides have games in hand on the Reds, as do seventh-placed Aston Villa.

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Liverpool beat Unirea Urziceni 3-1 in Bucharest last night in their Europa League match with goals from  Javier Mascherano, Ryan Babel and Steven Gerrard.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez made two changes two his side that drew 0-0 with Man City at Eastlands on Sunday, bringing in Yossi Benayoun to replace cup-tied Maxi Rodriguez and young French striker David N’gog was given a start, replacing Dirk Kuyt.

It was the home side who had the first attempt, with Sorin Frunza seeing his shot from just outside the box fizz over the bar after Liverpool had failed to deal with an Unirea free-kick.

However Liverpool were quick to respond with captain Steven Gerrard forcing Unirea goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis to make a save.

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