Rafael Benitez has demanded his players bounce back from the defeat by Middlesbrough on Saturday which saw them drop to third in the Barclays Premier League.

The Liverpool manager couldn't hide his disappointment following the 2-0 loss, which killed off any lingering hopes the club had of challenging Manchester United for the Premier League title. However, with a home fixture against Sunderland tomorrow night, Liverpool have the perfect opportunity to regain second place from Chelsea, who travel to Portsmouth.

"We were talking in training about improving, showing character. We want a reaction from them and hopefully we'll see this," Benitez said. "We can talk and talk about the gap to United but we have to get three points against Sunderland and then see what happens with them.

"We had chances on Saturday but after the first goal we were more nervous and anxious. After the second we started making more mistakes and it wasn't good enough.

"I was really disappointed and the players were also. But in training in the days after you cannot change what's happened - you just have to concentrate on Sunderland.

"We have to improve and show character to try to get the three points. Everyone knows how important the game is."

After the Sunderland match, Liverpool do not play again until March 10, when they face Real Madrid at Anfield in the second leg of their last-16 tie in the Champions League.

"The people will be happier if we win and we can then prepare the game against Real Madrid with a better atmosphere," he added.

"Clearly you prefer more time to prepare for this game, especially as we have some players with knocks, but it might be good if we can play well and win - then the mood will be better."