Benitez: Reds still title contenders

Posted Sunday, October 04, 2009 by PA

Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez insists his side can still mount a title challenge despite losing their third game of the season 2-0 at Chelsea.

Liverpool lost only two matches last term but second-half goals from Chelsea's Nicolas Anelka and substitute Florent Malouda condemned them to their third defeat inside the opening eight matches of the current campaign.

It is more than 40 years since any team have gone on to win the top-flight crown after losing three of their first eight games.

But Benitez is unconcerned by the statistics and pointed out there is still a long way to go before their own title hopes can be dismissed.

"I feel the performance wasn't bad against a good team," said Benitez. "We worked hard, had some good play.

"Defensively we were good enough. They didn't have too many chances, so we were defending better. We didn't have too many chances, which means they're also a good team.

"But if you make a mistake against a good team, they score. The game was a bit more open after they scored and we had some chances but you have to take those if you want to come back into the game.

"Our target has to be the next game. It's important to keep calm, keep working, improving. We came up against a good team doing well today, so we have to focus on the next game.

"This year, the top sides will lose points against the other teams, so the main thing is to try and improve and do better each week. We will try to do better against Sunderland.

"We drew a lot of games last season. We lost just two but people were telling me about the draws. Now we're winning more and losing a few but maybe we'll have more points."

Javier Mascherano lost possession for Chelsea's opener but Benitez refused to single out any of his team.

"I cannot blame any one of the players," he added. "We have to be pleased with the team effort.

"We made some mistakes but I was happy with the team effort. That was something we wanted to do. We were right 90% of the time.

"But it's a long race. Chelsea are very strong but we'll try to stay as close as possible and see what happens in April and May.

"You will see the top sides losing more points against any team. That's good for the Premier League, for the competition, but it means we have to keep going. We can't think about three defeats.

"It's one game at a time, try to win the next game and improve. That's it."

Chelsea's win was the perfect response to their 3-1 defeat at Wigan last week and an insipid 1-0 victory over Apoel Nicosia in the Champions League in midweek.

But boss Carlo Ancelotti denied he had been feeling the pressure ahead of their victory.

"In Italy we usually say, `It's the same the world over'," said Ancelotti. "It was not pressure. We lost one game and played badly for a second match but we worked hard to find the problem and resolve it.

"After this match, we've shown we've resolved our problem. It was not a big problem.

"It was an important win. It's normal that it was difficult because we played a strong team. Above all, the match was difficult.

"We maintained good control during the match. First half, it was a match with a lot of balance. Both teams kept good control of their defensive positions.

"The second half was different. We scored the first goal and had an opportunity to counter-attack. They put a lot of pressure on our midfield and wanted to draw but I think we deserved to win because we did a very good job during the 90 minutes.

"I know we did what we prepared before the game and, for this, I'm happy. We wanted to avoid free passes for Steven Gerrard because he's a very dangerous player. Michael Ballack, Michael Essien and Frank Lampard did that job fantastically.

"They used the right side to attack but, on the left, we did a good job."

Striker Didier Drogba did not get on the scoresheet but he made both goals and Ancelotti was delighted with the Ivory Coast international's contribution.

"He did very good support for Nicolas Anelka and worked very hard," said Anelka. "But all the players did.

"If you want to win against Liverpool or other big teams, you have to work together. Chelsea worked together today for each other.

"It was not possible to have space to play against Liverpool, to play football, because they had very good defensive organisation and don't leave space in their midfield.

"Sometimes you can use the strength of Didier, Essien or Ballack. That's a characteristic that we can use sometimes.

"To control Fernando Torres is not easy. Ricardo Carvalho and John Terry did a fantastic job. I think Torres had one opportunity in the first half, and Terry and Carvalho played very well."