Historic victory will give Liverpool vital confidence
SOMETIMES you don't mind being proven wrong. In fact, in the case of Liverpool's win against Manchester United on Saturday, I'm delighted to be.
I was pleasantly surprised not just by the result but by the performance as well.
I would never have written Liverpool off in terms of being able to beat United because anyone can win a one-off game against anyone else. But before the game I was convinced they would get nowhere near to challenging them for the title.
They had no width. Not enough strength in depth. They were too reliant on Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
Not any more.
Both goals involved players coming in from wide positions and it showed that the best defences can be forced into errors if you spread the play out a bit and pull them about.
Liverpool have been so narrow this season it's been frightening but it's they who will have the full-backs looking nervously over their shoulders after the variety they displayed.
But the real victory came in midfield. Michael Carrick went off injured but Paul Scholes and Anderson were also replaced.
In other words, Liverpool saw off all three of United's starting midfielders. Okay, Carrick they can't take credit for, but that statistic is still testament to the way they passed and pressed United into submission.
Most pleasing of all though was coming from behind without Torres and Gerrard having to pick the team up by its bootlaces and make something happen.
Gerrard actually looked a bit off the pace in the 20 minutes he did play so it wasn't even as if it was he who inspired the win.
Which is another reason why Rafael Benitez can now start to believe he has a title-challenging squad on his hands.
The manager needs to take certain players to one side now and say, 'this is what you can do when we don't have our two best players - that win was down to you, not them'.
The likes of Albert Riera, Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel. Even Xabi Alonso. For various reasons, they all need a bit of a boost.
Benitez needs to play on the confidence and belief and make sure it's oozing out of them after Saturday's result.
That's how he will get the best out of his squad players when they are called on, something that ha let him down in the past.
Not that Torres and Gerrard shouldn't come straight back into the side once they are fully fit. If that's the case in Marseille tonight then so be it.
You pick your best players and that's life. And after a fortnight out injured, it's not as if the need a rest (although if Benitez hasn't learned from this failed policy of holding players back early in the season by now, then he never will).
But the mark of potential champions is being able to rely on nplayers coming into the side without disrupting the consistency of results.
I think Liverpool proved on Saturday that they now have the ability to do that.
On the negative side, I also watched Chelsea later that afternoon and they looked so good that I still reckon I'll get at least one prediction right this season.
I tipped them for the title and nothing I have seen sos far this season changes that.
But Liverpool have now changed many opinions, including mine.
And you know things are good when Sir Alex Ferguson starts giving you credit.
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