Rafa Benitez went on his own Liverpool Spygate mission that left opposition shocked

Liverpool prepare to face Toulouse in the Europa League at Anfield on Thursday evening (20.00 BST).

The Reds are aiming for a third successive Group E victory and take another step towards qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition. And Jurgen Klopp will be demanding that his troops do not underestimate the French outfit despite being the heavy favourites.

Liverpool do battle with Toulouse for only the third time in the club’s history. The first and only meetings between the pair came in the 2007-08 season in the Champions League third qualifying round, with the Reds cruising to a 5-0 aggregate victory. Rafa Benitez’s side earned a 1-0 win in the first leg at the Stadium Municipal courtesy of an Andriy Voronin long-range strike before they cruised to a 4-0 triumph at Anfield. Peter Crouch, Sami Hyypia and a late Dirk Kuyt double wrapped up the success.

Football was a lot different 15 years ago than it is now. The marked improvements in technology and scouting platforms will mean Klopp and his backroom staff have access to every Toulouse game they’ve played this season and for campaigns previous.

That was something that wouldn’t have been afforded to Benitez, though. He had to try to get an insight into how the Occitanie-based side played without the likes of Wyscout.

In charge of Les Violets was Elie Baup. And the former Toulouse boss has revealed how his side discovered that Benitez sent a member of his Liverpool coaching staff to spy on the French side - much like Marcelo Bielsa’s infamous Spygate saga when Leeds United boss caught watching a Derby Country training session - to gain information.

Speaking to lesviolets.com, Baup said: “It was Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager. I never told anyone this before, but I remember him sending a member of his staff to spy on our training sessions all week before the game. We trained behind closed doors or in front of very few people at that time, and we surprised this assistant who came to observe us.

“I remember that it was Alain Casanova who spotted him, because he knew him more or less, and this guy was a Spaniard from Benítez's staff who spied on the opponents.

“As they didn't know us well and didn't really know what to expect, Benítez and Liverpool had sent him fishing for information while hiding. It shows all of Benítez’s professionalism and it had an impact on me. To see that a guy like him, on the front of the stage, neglected no detail, it was flattering for us and quite honestly, I had never seen that before.”

Liverpool boasted players including Kop legend Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres, Javier Mascherano, Jamie Carragher and Pepe Reina. That season, they went on to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League, as well as finishing fourth in the Premier League.

On the meetings, Baup said: “I remember the atmosphere at the Stadium very well. We only lost 1-0, playing our luck bravely. I see Reina in goal again, he was an excellent goalkeeper. There, it was a one-sided match, but at the Stadium, in the middle of August, in crazy heat, we had a serious match. The story goes that we conceded this crazy goal, from afar, from Voronin. Otherwise, Douchez hadn't had much work.

“I mainly focused on controlling their midfield as much as possible. We're still talking about Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso or Javier Mascherano! (laughs) . They were incredible guys. We had a strong midfielder, our usual midfielder with Dieuze, Emana and Sirieix. Afterwards, the idea was to provide solutions in the corridors with Jérémy Mathieu and Albin Ebondo. In that match, there were a lot more actions and crosses on our side than on theirs. Compared to their qualities in the heart of the game, the objective was to bring danger by bypassing them.”