Views From a True Red, Liverpool FC

Liverpool's unbeaten run in the PL was kept ongoing in style when a changed Liverpool side made no mistake to defeat Portsmouth at Anfield, courtesy of a Steven Gerrard penalty kick which sent the red arena ablaze. Liverpool won the match by the tiniest of scores to secure an additional 3 points to remain top of the PL table. Rafa changed 4 men from the side that faced Chelsea. Hyypia got the call to the starting line up and so was Pennant, Babel and Lucas.

It was on the very rarest of occasions that Portsmouth threatened the Liverpool goal. Crouchie was well marked as were a host of other Portsmouth players. Undoubtedly, Liverpool were the better side attacking their opponent and creating goal occasions which they could not convert. Clearly Liverpool should have won the match by more than a goal, but as most will agree, a win remains a win. From my point of view, Pennant didn't perform at all. He was going down too easily and his runs weren't fruitful. He very rarely crossed the ball. Come January, i bet he'll be placed on the transfer list. It seems to me that he's not the player with the right mentality that Benitez needs.

The introduction of Benayoun in the second half to replace Pennant enabled Liverpool to attack with more venom. It was clear, Pennant couldn't do in an hour what Benayoun did within just minutes of entering onto the pitch. Besides, Babel is a player who is always going to progress. He is young and his techniques on the ball will become better. His pace and ability has many times threatened the Portsmouth players during the match. Gerrard was again our captain fantastic controlling the midfield alongside Alonso. As for Lucas, well, i have not much to say. Let's give him one more season to prove himself. Not to forget, Keane nearly opened his PL scoring account during the dying minutes of the match, after he had just been introduced on the pitch.

All in all, Liverpool's performance didn't come close to that demonstrated at Stamford but it was enough to beat a resilient Portsmouth side. Match 10 is now over, with hard earned 26 points for us fans and Liverpool players alike to savour. Next up is Tottenham at White Hart Lane. If we can overcome Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, there is no reason why we cannot snatch 3 points from White Hart Lane. Belief and hard work will be the key attributes for a possible win.