Mascherano not to play against Liege

Olympic gold medalist Javier Mascherano won’t be featuring mid-week against Standard Liege, according to Rafael Benitez.

Mascherano made history this week at the Olympics when he won his second Olympic gold medal, following Argentina’s victory in Sydney four years ago.

Liverpool will face Standard Liege at Anfield on Wednesday in a do-or-die situation for a place in the Champions League. Mascherano however, will not feature due to jetlag and tiredness.

Benitez said: “Javier will be back with us soon. But I do not think he will be in contention to play in Europe. He has spent too much time travelling and playing, that makes it difficult to be at your best.

“The same thing applied to Ryan Babel. He returned from China last week after Holland were knocked out, but I only really considered him as a substitute at the weekend.” he ended.