Benitez: Reds still title contenders

05 October 2009 08:24
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. Benitez said: "Defensively we were good enough. They didn't have too many chances, so we were defending better. But if you make a mistake against a good team, they score. Our target has to be the next game. It's important to keep calm, keep working, improving. We came up against a good team, 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."

Source: Eurosport