Guus Hiddink stared into the eyes of his players as the news none of them wanted was broken on the training field at Cobham.
And what he saw had him believing that Chelsea will send Liverpool crashing out of the Champions League at Stamford Bridge next month.
Before the draw had paired the clubs for a fifth consecutive season, Blues midfielder Frank Lampard admitted he'd had enough of nights of Champions League tension at Anfield.
But instead of groans and moans as he relayed the news, Hiddink witnessed a response he hopes will sustain his men against all the hostility of The Kop. "I didn't see any of my players shaking their heads and saying: 'Oh no, not again'. I'd expected a bit of that perhaps. But the reaction was very positive and excited, which is exactly what I wanted to see," said the temporary Chelsea coach.
