Rafa Benitez believes Liverpool’s win over Chelsea sends
out a ‘massive message’ to the rest of The Premier
League.
Xabi Alonso’s deflected first-half strike was enough
for The Reds to end Chelsea's 86-game unbeaten home
streak with a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool are now three points clear of their title rivals
at the top of The Premier League and Benitez was full of praise for
The Reds’ winning mentality.
"Everybody was talking about statistics and our record against
the top sides and we knew they were unbeaten at home for a long
time, so it was a massive game for us," Benitez told the official
club website.
"We have the right mentality that you need for fighting against
the top sides and to win and stay at the top of the table and
remain unbeaten is a massive message.
"To come here with the mentality and the character the players
showed today for winning was a big boost for the rest of the
season. We have belief, quality and character.
"It's enough for being at the top of the table and we will now
start thinking about Portsmouth and another three points.
"We have showed good qualities today that we can come to Chelsea
and win the game. Against a very offensive team I felt we
controlled the game.
"We had other chances and we didn't just sit back and defend the
1-0 lead. We kept the attacking mentality and tried to get the
second goal.
"The team worked so hard and the players knew what to do. We had
more space going forward in the second half because they were
pushing more players forward.
"We defended really well and they didn't have too many
opportunities.
"Credit to my players who were really good. The key for me is if
you have players with quality who work hard then you know you will
have a winning team.
"Our supporters were behind us as always and for them, for us
and everyone in the club it was a fantastic day."
Liverpool now face Portsmouth on Wednesday, where they are
likely to come up against former striker Peter Crouch, and Benitez
is determined they maintain their focus.
"Clearly I think we have to come down from this win and start
thinking about Portsmouth," he added.
"It was important to beat Manchester United and now we have
beaten Chelsea, but clearly if you want to stay at the top of the
table for a long time you have to beat almost everyone."
Liverpool were without star striker Fernando Torres for the trip
to Stamford Bridge, as they were for their home win over
Manchester United.
Benitez hailed Liverpool’s strength of depth and their
ability to win without one of their best players.
"Everybody was talking about how it would be difficult for us to
come to Chelsea without Torres," added Benitez. "Fernando is a key
player for us who can change a game and is always a threat for the
defenders.
"But, if you work well as a team together you can manage like we
showed today. If we have to play one or two more games without
Fernando I think we have enough quality in the squad.
"We have confidence and we just have to keep it going. Every
year we are trying to improve the squad. We have made mistakes
signing players but we have also made some very good ones. When I
talk about players I don't just mean quality because they need a
very good mentality.
"Players like Agger, Mascherano, Alonso, Gerrard, Carragher,
Reina, you can see the mentality they have and it inspires the rest
of the players too.
"We have a good squad with good competition. Diego Cavalieri
hasn't played much but he is pushing Pepe Reina, Dossena is pushing
Fabio Aurelio which is really positive for us so the new players
have a very good mentality. Lucas Leiva is working so hard in every
training session and everybody has to be on their toes."