Portsmouth 2 Liverpool 1

Team of the day..
Dudek, Insua, Hyypia (captain), Paletta, Arbeloa, Zenden, Sissoko, Alonso, Gonzalez, Fowler, Bellamy.
Subs - Hobbs, El Zhar, Padelli, Pennant, Kuyt

Match Goal..

Hyypia [1-2] vs Portsmouth
Uploaded by redhalfofmerseyside

Louis' Comments..

A match which we saw many of our Liverpool youngsters and talent in the line-up. Emiliano Insua, Gabriel Paletta, Jack Hobbs, Nabil El Zhar and Daniele Padelli were in the squad last night.

A horrible first half display by the lads caused to be 2 goals down. The goals conceded were clear stupid mistakes which many of the players would have to learn. I'm unsure whether I'm the biased against Dudek or everyone feels the same as me. Every time he plays, I just don't have the confidence in him. Likewise, the first goal of Portsmouth was his blunder. He was slow to clear his lines and was not sure of what to do at the edge of the penalty box.

Xabi Alonso was in the middle and I could see that he has been overworked. The players around him was not supporting him well enough. Bolo Zenden, Momo Sissoko and Mark Gonzalez were so poor.

We saw a better response and performance after the first half and I'm pretty pleased with that change. Rafa must have spoken some sense into these players. Sami got one back for us with a typical header from a corner. However, we were not able to make a comeback as we failed to score the second goal.

Although Liverpool has already assured Champions League football, still, I believe that it's good for the team to keep winning in any league or cup. Sadly, they are not winning and performance was pretty poor. Nevertheless, it's a good experience for the young players and have a feel how it's like to play in the English League.

Now, we have the big second leg coming up..

Come on Reds!

You'll Never Walk Alone..