Koeman, scourge of the English, targets yet another victim

His reign as national coach already slipping away, Taylor's anguish was captured by documentary makers alongside the away dug-out in Rotterdam as Koeman struck the first of many decisive blows against English opposition.

Scroll down for more

Reprieved moments earlier, when he should have been sent off for a professional foul on David Platt, Koeman curled a 20-yard free-kick round the wall and beyond David Seaman to put England out of the reckoning for the 1994 World Cup and Taylor out of a job.

The Holland maestro finally hung up his boots after winning a European Championship as well as two European Cups, but was soon training his sights on English clubs following his move into coaching.

Manchester United and Liverpool succumbed to his relatively unfancied Benfica side in last season's Champions League and his 44th birthday celebrations last month were helped along by PSV Eindhoven's win over Arsenal in the last 16.

He aims for a fifth English scalp, Liverpool in the Philips Stadion tonight, but acknowledges that PSV's preparations have hardly been ideal after a run of poor form and injuries that has threatened their place at the top of the Dutch league.

They were embarrassed 5-1 at home by arch-rivals Ajax in the middle of a three-game sequence without a win and have seen a commanding lead trimmed to just two points.

Koeman, a dynamic playing presence in midfield or at centre-back, remained as defiant as ever, though, as he said: "It is good our domestic problems will be in the background for a few days and it will be no problem motivating the players.

"It will be difficult given Liverpool's form and our fitness problems and I'd be satisfied with 0-0. But, equally, we have to be proud to be involved in this stage of the tournament. Anyone would be and we must do everything we can to make it count."

Koeman may pride himself on lifting players for the big occasion, but Benitez hardly lacks tactical prowess after plotting a series of spectacular Champions League successes against the likes of AC Milan, Juventus, Chelsea and Barcelona.

Benitez is typically coy about being hailed as a master of his craft but it is still evident that he relishes pitting his wits against other top coaches.

"You can only be a genius if you have good players," he said. "You could be the best tactician in the world but if all I had was you lot (pointing to journalists) we would struggle to win anything. You must have good players to make your ideas work.

"When I was youth coach at Real Madrid I remember telling a young player what he must do to score from a free-kick. He ignored me and stuck it in the top corner and I said 'OK, that is good as well'. You have your ideas but, ultimately, the players decide. They respond to situations out in the middle.

"That is why, although this is our fifth game against Ronald Koeman, he might not be as sure as he thinks he is about what we are going to do. He may know all about my thinking but not how my players might react to situations on the night.

"He has a great record against English teams and you wonder why. Maybe it is because we sometimes think we are better than them and fall into the trap of being complacent. Complacency is never a good thing and I will not allow it to creep in.

"No one should be fooled into thinking PSV will not fight with everything they have got. They beat Arsenal in the last round and are still top of their league so we will not underestimate them."