Team's performance keeps Rafa positive

The Reds were held to a 1-1 draw by incompetent referee Rob Styles yesterday afternoon but the team's performance meant Rafa Benitez could take plenty of positives from the game.

"We had chances to win the game and we have lost two points today, but we have to look at the positives," said the Liverpool boss.

"It is too early, but at least we have shown that we can compete with Chelsea. Now we have to show the same tempo and performance against all the teams over nine months.

"The Premier League is difficult when you have the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and United in there, and it's too soon to talk about the title.

"We just have to try and win our games and see where we are after the next two months.

"We can take positives from the game because we showed character and quality and had chances against a good team. That shows we are close over one game. We now need to show we can do this over nine months."