RELIEF ALL ROUND

Never were three points so essential...yet they say that for almost every game these days, don't they?
Fernando Torres pilfered two last-minute goals for us that just might be a hugely defining moment in our season.
In all honesty, it was a win that Liverpool deserved, although it highlighted a lot of the failings that the side have shown this year.
There was only one team trying to win the football match and the half-decent openings can be toted up to demonstrate the Reds dominance.
Alonso forced Cech into action, so did Benayoun, the Israeli grazed the top netting, Riera stung the goalkeeper's fingertips and Torres was twice denied by brilliant blocks from Man of the Match Alex.
It was a typical Liverpool display, having the bulk of possession and territory, some promising openings fashioned, but nothing clear cut.
Sometimes though, it's only right that the team trying to win the game should be handed a slice of fortune.
And there's no doubt we were lucky in the extreme over the Lampard sending off.
It's hard to feel sympathy for Frank, particularly after his ankle breaker on Alonso a few years ago and countless deflected shots winning him plaudits.
But it was easy to understand his bemusement after a shocking decision by Mike Riley.
As it's been pointed out, the foul was really committed by Xabi Alonso who belted Frank's leg after the Chelsea midfielder had cleanly won the ball.
As TV replays show, the referee's angle wasn't great and he was no doubt won over by the Spaniard's reaction, not to say Xabi was faking by clutching his leg.
Liverpool were already in the ascendancy before the red card, and whether they would have gone onto win if Chelsea remained with 11 men, is anybody's guess.
But it definitely handed Liverpool some extra impetus to grab the three points.

Have you ever seen Chelsea so inspid? This was a performance to rank alongisde their no-show at Old Trafford in recent weeks.
Barely a shot at goal, they seemed content at merely keeping things solid despite having a huge chance to get back into the title race.
Players like Lampard, Anelka, Ballack and Mikel were quiet, but credit our midfield and defence for swarming all over them.
These are the games that Mascherano loves and he was back in the thick of it after some poor displays of late.
Gerrard was one of the best players on the park, again, and our best stuff predicatably revolved around him.
One blatant dive by the captain on the edge of the area however, for which he was booked, was a bit naughty.
But it's games like this that showed the thin line between failure and success. If Chelsea had held out for three more minutes to secure a nil-nil, the howls of dissatisfaction would still be echoing around Anfield.
For all the Red waves lapping away at the Blue back four, this was a repeat of Liverpool against Wigan and against Everton in the FA Cup.
Bottom line, we need more firepower to break throuh tough, durable, defensive teams.
It was noticeable how Chelsea had far more to worry about when suddenly they had Torres AND Kuyt playing centre forward.
It made the decision to exclude Keane all the more baffling. But it's like banging your head against a brick wall to understand Rafa's treatment of the Irishman. Only a few hours to go until transfer deadline...watch this space.

The fact that Babel even got on the field to predictably run into cul-de-scas and lose the ball only reinforced the point.
Maybe the Dutchman should take a leaf out of Benayoun's book on how to make an impact on a game.
The Israeli provided real impetus, and is one of those frustrating players who is far more effective coming off the bench than in the starting line-up.
Whether Keane is sold before 5pm today remains to be seen, but if the Irishman remains at Anfield, his exclusion made no sense.
Are were seriously saying that Keane at his worst is worse than Ngog at his best? Not a chance.
Or Babel in any kind of form for that matter. I'd rather have Keane on a broken leg than Babel in his pomp. Does the Dutchman have a 'pomp'?
If Keane does remain at the club for the rest of the season, what does leaving him out of the squad do for his confidence?
And selling Keane seems a strange decision as that leaves us with just one genuine striker, if we say Kuyt is now a bona fide midfielder.
As much as Gerrard is great linking up with a lone-striker, it's no wonder we are easy to defend against with one number nine to occupy a back four's thoughts.

In the end, with a little help of lady luck, we got the result we deserved. It's safe to say that being four points behind Man Utd, with an extra game played, would have been too tall an order.
Now, hopefully we can dispose of a struggling Pompey side on Saturday and West Ham can defend against Man Utd like they have defended against every else so far this season.
Let's put a bleak January behind us and go on a run with renewed confidence, with our without a certain luckless Irish striker.