Oh well, there's always next season! It may seem overly pessimistic to write off the side's title chances after just one game, but Chelsea's win at Anfield merely confirmed what most of us suspected before the season kicked off - Houllier's Liverpool are not good enough to bring home number 19.

Sorry if that seems too negative, but to think otherwise is kidding yourself. Optimism is one thing, delusion is another. Liverpool played quite well today, and can consider themselves very unfortunate to lose. But Chelsea looked ominously good at times, and will surely only get better as their new players settle in.

They were better than us last season, and they've brought in so much quality that it's totally unrealistic to expect us to overhaul them this year. That's without even bringing the mancs, Arsenal and Newcastle into it.

I'm resigned to a scrap for fourth place with the Geordies, although I'm also concerned about rapidly improving Blackburn overhauling us. My expectation levels going into this season are as low as they've ever been, as I've got no faith whatsoever in the present manager.

Those fans who have been venting spleen on the phone ins and on internet forums are probably doing so because they'd convinced themselves that things would be different this time around, and because optimism is always high at this time of year. Today's game brought reality back home for some.

Optimism inevitably leads to disappointment (especially if you're a Liverpool fan). Optimism however, is not something I have been feeling of late, and my expectation level is so low that I was actually pleasantly surprised by the performance. I thought we'd be a lot worse than this.

The case of Igor Biscan demonstrates this perfectly. He wasn't brilliant, but he did much better than people expected. That's how I felt about the whole performance. I thought we played well - by our own low standards anyway.

Houllier is being criticised for his team selection, and in particular the inclusion of Bruno Cheyrou. I could add to that criticism, and it's fair to say when I heard the team my heart did sink somewhat. But at the same time I can understand why Houllier did it. He wanted to play the diamond formation, but was struggling for numbers in midfield.

Obviously Biscan was going to be the holding player, Murphy would be in there and Kewell would be at the point of the diamond. So that left one place to be filled, and given that we know Le Boss does not have the grapefruits to pick the brilliant John Welsh, it was a choice between Diouf and Cheyrou.

Now Diouf on his worst day is better than Bruno, but he isn't particularly suited to the role of inside left. That's why Houllier picked Cheyrou, and although I don't agree with it, I can understand his 'logic.'

Diouf's scintillating display as a sub only served to highlight how wrong the initial selection was, but hopefully the lesson is learnt in time for Villa next week. As for Cheyrou, everyone seems to be saying how bad he was, but ironically that was probably the best game I've seen him have since he arrived here.

Don't get me wrong, his performance never rose above mediocre, but having seen most of Bruno's games for the club, be it for the first team or the ressies, I have to say this was the best I've seen from him by a distance. Those who say he was shit today can consider themselves lucky they didn't see some of his reserve team displays last season!

Chelsea sprung a selection surprise of their own, opting for just one forward, Eidur Gudjohnsen. Initially I thought this would be to their detriment, but it quickly became clear that rather than playing one up front, they were in fact playing three, with Duff and Gronkjaer operating as wide attackers and Veron floating behind the lone striker.

You look at their formation, and the options available on the bench, and it's clear that Chelsea not only have a plan B, but C, D, E and F as well. They'll take some stopping.

Yet we began the game brightly, and it took a brilliant stop from Cudicini to deny Murphy, as Liverpool poured forward in an encouraging opening twenty minutes. Some of the football was excellent, and Kewell was looking very dangerous.

There was still an embarrassing over-reliance on the ball over the top at times, but amongst that we did play some fluid stuff through midfield. Biscan started well, and showed some good composure on the ball, making Veron look foolish on more than one occasion. His clumsiness in giving free-kicks away is a concern though, and is something I doubt he'll ever overcome.

Owen was twice denied by Cudicini, and Hyypia headed into the side netting from a tight angle. But if the reds were going to produce anything, you sensed it would come through our new number seven. Harry caught the eye in a roaming role, giving the home fans several glimpses of what he will bring to the side this season.

First he showed a stunning burst of pace to leave the otherwise excellent John Terry trailing in his wake, and his right foot cross-shot flew just inches wide. Then he went agonisingly close with a stunning 25 yard volley after neatly bringing the ball down on his chest.

Kewell's debut was the most positive thing to come out of this game. He is a lot quicker than I ever thought he was, and his touch and control are as good as anyone at the club. He found it hard to get as involved as he'd like, mainly due to the overuse of the long ball from the back, but he got better and better as the game went on, and can be well pleased with his afternoon's work.

Liverpool were unquestionably the better side early on, yet it was the visitors who took the lead with their first real attack of the game. Gronkjaer, who had been well shackled by Carragher on the other flank, switched wings with Duff, and it paid instant dividends.

The Danish flying machine eluded Riise and Cheyrou, before Hyypia dived in unnecessarily. The comedy of errors continued with Henchoz slipping as the ball was played into the box, leaving Veron to smash the ball home from ten yards.

It was a hammer blow, and it was hard not to feel the sense of injustice. Liverpool had looked really good up until that point, but given the reds dreadful recent home record, the first goal always looked like being crucial. Houllier's side have always struggled to come back after conceding the opening goal, and with Chelsea possessing the most miserly defence in the country, it was going to be a tall order for the reds to get back into the game.

Indeed they could, and should, have fallen further behind, when Veron played in Gudjohnsen - who found himself totally free after Henchoz stepped up to play offside - but thankfully Dudek made himself big and just did enough to deflect the ball wide.

The miss was to prove costly for the Icelandic international, as Ranieri replaced him at the interval with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. The big Dutch striker has an annoying habit of scoring against the reds, and he would continue that trend with a late winner to break Liverpudlian hearts.

As for the reds, Houllier declined to change things at half time, perhaps understandably considering how his team had performed, but with attacking options on the bench such as Baros, Diouf and Le Tallec (a welcome change from last season when we'd have Diao, Biscan and Traore warming up), it was only a matter of time before a change would be made.

Cheyrou was the obvious one to make way, and his withdrawal for Diouf on 55 minutes was the signal for Liverpool to mount a series of attacks on the Chelsea backline. The African footballer of the year tied young Glen Johnson in knots with his trickery, and Ranieri wasted no time in bringing on the experienced William Gallas to try and keep Diouf quiet.

It didn't work, as the reds number nine continued the irresistible form he showed in his cameo against Valencia last week. Diouf twisted and turned, he ran at defenders and he reached the byline. He was a menace, and it was no surprise when he was brought down by Bridge for a penalty.

Referee Steve Bennett had already turned down two penalty appeals for handball in the second half, and there was no way he was going to turn down a third appeal when Diouf was upended. Some sections of the press have described it as a dubious penalty, but it was as clear cut as you're likely to see from where I was sat.

The celebrations were cut short when Michael Owen picked the ball up and put it on the spot. With Murphy and Diouf in the line up, it seemed strange that Owen, who'd been subdued throughout and has an awful record from the spot, was stepping up for such an important kick.

The result was woeful, his feeble shot rolling about three feet wide. Owen held his head in his hands, as did forty thousand or so Liverpool fans inside Anfield. But the linesman, Dave Babski (how ironic is that!), had spotted that Cudicini had come off his line too soon, and Bennett gave Owen a chance at a reprieve. Much to the disgust of Chelsea, and the usual moaner in chief Marcel Desailly.

Murphy tried to take the ball off Owen, but Kewell dragged him away insisting Owen should take it. Owen had to have been pooing his pants, but he kept his nerve and drove it straight down the middle to level the scores. Michael is not a good penalty taker, but it's got nothing to do with his bottle. It's simply a matter of technique.

We got out of jail this time, but next time we get a pen, SuperDan should be the one stepping up, not Mickey.

Houllier had thrown everything at Chelsea to try and get an equaliser, with Henchoz and Biscan replaced by Finnan and Baros. The reds boss has been guilty of negativity in the past, but the reds finished this game with Owen and Baros up front, Diouf and Heskey on the wings and Kewell behind the front two. Murphy was the holding player!

Liverpool hadn't exactly peppered the Chelsea goal in the second half, but they had built up some pressure and were worthy of an equaliser. The Londoners seemed happy to soak up the pressure and protect their lead, and in Desailly and Terry they had the game's two outstanding performers. They were the reason Cudicini wasn't tested much after the break, as they repelled wave after wave of attacks before they reached the Italian's goal.

But with the scores suddenly level, Chelsea stepped up a gear and it was they who always looked most likely to grab the winner. Liverpool should have had the momentum following the penalty, but Chelsea's class was there for all to see, as Hasselbaink and Veron exposed the gaps left in front of the reds back four in Biscan's absence.

The winning goal arrived when Hasselbaink plucked a high ball out of the air with an exquisite piece of control, before holding off Carragher and finding the bottom corner with unerring accuracy.

Defeat was harsh on Liverpool, as they performed better in this game than they did in most of the games they won at Anfield last season.

As for individual performances, Kewell and Diouf stood out, Carragher was solid at right back and Biscan did well. Heskey had a decent game without being spectacular, Henchoz did well before being mysteriously subbed whilst Dudek had no chance with either goal and made great stops from Gudjohnsen and Lampard.

Danny Murphy showed that he's an excellent support player for someone like Gerrard, but he's unable to run a game on his own. That's no disgrace of course, there's very few players who can. Without Gerrard and Hamann, more is expected of Danny but he isn't Steven Gerrard and it's unfair to expect him to be.

Sami Hyypia continued how he'd left off last season, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Houllier make one last attempt to get Boumsong before the transfer window closes. Hyypia is not noticeably bad, but neither is he the rock he was in the treble season. His standards have slipped a great deal, although it seems to have gone largely un-noticed as his name is usually the first sung every week.

But the fact is we're no longer rock solid at the back like we were in the treble season, and Houllier's summer long pursuit of Boumsong (and Ayala if you believe the rumours) suggests he's looking to address this problem.

Riise was exposed by Gronkjaer, and with Finnan approaching full fitness maybe Carra will switch to the left? There are still plenty of questions to be answered, and Houllier has a lot to think about between now and the game at Villa Park next weekend.

The bright side is that if we produce a performance like this next week, it should easily be enough to see off O'Leary's Villa, who aren't in the same class as Chelsea.

 

Team: Jerzy Dudek; Jamie Carragher, Stephane Henchoz (Steve Finnan), Sami Hyypia, John Arne Riise; Igor Biscan (El Hadji Diouf), Danny Murphy, Bruno Cheyrou (Milan Baros) Harry Kewell; Emile Heskey, Michael Owen:

 

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