By J Wade
January 13 2005

Liverpool were full of confidence going into this game after three wins on the bounce believing that they could beat the league leaders. However at the end of the game will feel disappointed and robbed of three vital points. After the game Benitez said that his team played very well and deserved to win the game. He also said that the game changed because of two things, which were the injury blow to Xabi Alonso and the penalty decision turned down after what Benitez described as a clear handball for all to see. The decision from Mike Riley was hard to take for the fans and persons involved in Liverpool FC however Benitez refused to blame the referee for his decision. In my opinion Liverpool were by far the better tean for the first 45 minutes creating many opportunities and having two clear penaltys turned down. Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho stated that Liverpool should have had a penalty for Tiago's handball, however television evidence clearly shows that Florent Sinama-Pongolle should have been awarded a penalty after being held back by William Gallas. Mourinho believes that a draw would have been a fair result, which even then the Reds fans would have been disappointed with. To see your team play well but then give away a silly goal is disappointing but to see your team play well and be robbed from the referee is ridiculous. Since when have referees been allowed to determine who gets the three points. Liverpool fans can't be disappointed with the performance of the players which is a plus but have all right to be angry with the result because decisions did not go are way. Benitez said that his players need to keep their confidence high and concentrate on next weeks game against Norwich.