SOCCER:Rafael Benitez went into his showdown talks with Liverpool's American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, last night insisting that Manchester United's 1-0 win at Anfield would not seriously weaken his position.

A demoralising defeat for Benitez leaves Liverpool fifth in the table, nine points behind Alex Ferguson's team and 10 behind Arsenal. The club could also face FA action after a fan threw a golf ball at Wayne Rooney towards the end of the match. He missed but the referee, Mark Halsey, is expected to include details of the incident in his official report.

The Spaniard insisted Liverpool's title campaign had not suffered irretrievable damage as he prepared for an evening of extensive discussions in the Anfield boardroom. "We are going to speak tonight but it's a meeting to talk about the future rather than one game," said Benitez. "We're trying to clarify the misunderstanding." By that Benitez was referring to his disagreement with Hicks and Gillett about their preparations for the January transfer window. Gillett, in particular, was grim-faced as he left his seat after watching Liverpool lose to Carlos Tevez's 43rd-minute goal.

Benitez refused to be critical of his players and shook his head defiantly when he was asked whether back-to-back defeats meant Liverpool were now out of the title race. "It's too soon," he said. "It's going to make it harder for us and we will need to keep winning games in a row."

Not many Liverpool supporters will share his confidence, however, with Ferguson stating that United had fully deserved their victory. "It was a typical Liverpool-Manchester United game, the crowd were making a fervour and it was difficult for the referee but it was all about winning and when we played football we were the better side," he said.

Ferguson has yet to lose against Benitez and is unlikely to appreciate the Spaniard's remarks that United had been "lucky". "You couldn't see the difference between the two sides," said Benitez. "We didn't create much but they didn't either."