Andre Villas-Boas: 'Liverpool were superior'

Andre Villas-Boas has admitted a "life or death" situation for Chelsea after they were knocked out of the Carling Cup by Liverpool last night.

Second-half goals from Maxi Rodriguez and Martin Kelly sealed a 2-0 victory for the Reds to seal their second win at Stamford Bridge in nine days.

Villas-Boas has said that next month's fixtures will be crucial in shaping Chelsea's season campaign.

"The Champions League game against Valencia next week is life or death and this standard of performance won't be enough," Villas-Boas said.

"This was far inferior to the game we played against Wolves and Liverpool were the superior team tonight.

"We've just not been good enough at home and have become anxious about playing at Stamford Bridge. For our challenge to stay alive we need to make the most of our December fixtures and they include Newcastle, Manchester City and Tottenham as well as Valencia."

Liverpool's semi-final opponents will be decided in a draw after Manchester United's quarter-final clash with Crystal Palace tonight (Wednesday).