Portsmouth  2  Liverpool  1:Chelsea had drawn and Liverpool had lost, but there was still no mistaking which club had the happier manager on Saturday night. Rafael Benitez spared six of his most important players the 500-mile round-trip to Portsmouth and, after watching an almost full-strength Chelsea stutter to a 2-2 draw against Bolton earlier in the day, nothing - not even defeat - seemed to dampen the Spaniard's mood.

Jose Mourinho had talked loudly before last week's Champions League semi-final first leg, in which Chelsea prevailed 1-0, but Liverpool's softly-spoken manager is now sufficiently emboldened to play his own mind games prior to the return leg at Anfield tomorrow.

Benitez argues the complexion of the match has been significantly altered by Chelsea's dwindling hopes of retaining the Premiership title.

"It's clear they'll be under pressure," he said. "If you spend this amount of money it's to win trophies. That means if they cannot win the league now they will be under real pressure for sure. The league could be difficult for them and maybe also the Champions League.

"They have spent millions and millions and then they need to win trophies. When you play against a team like Chelsea, who have spent more money than anyone else in the world in the last five years, we must be calm and say, 'Okay, if we can beat them, perfect'. If you analyse the last five years and the value of each player then we must be the underdogs."

Of those who played at Stamford Bridge last Wednesday, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Jose Reina, Peter Crouch, Javier Mascherano, John Arne Riise, Dirk Kuyt and Daniel Agger were all omitted from Saturday's starting line-up.

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp expects the luxury of extra rest will be a key factor tomorrow. "Chelsea are running on empty at the moment," he said. "I don't know how they have kept going. [ Frank] Lampard, [ John] Terry and [ Didier] Drogba have played week in and week out and they have all been massive games and they have come back from the World Cup . . . It's got to take its toll at this stage of the season and that's the big advantage for Liverpool."

The other factor in Liverpool's favour will, of course, be home advantage and the manager and players are keen to ensure a night of maximum noise at Anfield.

"When they hear our supporters, the players run faster," said Benitez. "The fans were a key player for us two years ago - it was the supporters who kept us running and running."

One major issue Benitez must resolve is whether to continue with Agger alongside Carragher in central defence following Didier Drogba's dominant display in the first leg at Stamford Bridge.

Saturday's match will have given him limited faith in the alternatives. Liverpool were undone by goals from Benjani Mwaruwari and Niko Kranjcar, which were both created by hopeful long balls.

Benjani's pace and movement in attack stretched the Liverpool defence, creating confusion throughout the first half.

He reacted sharply to read David James's long clearance and then guide the ball beyond Dudek for their first goal.

One option for Benitez would be to recall Sami Hyypia, who scored what proved to be a consolation goal from Robbie Fowler's corner. The Finn would come closer to matching Drogba's physical strength, although there are signs his movement has become more limited.

The atmosphere at Fratton Park was tinged with high emotion following the death of Portsmouth's former manager Alan Ball . The win keeps them in contention for a Uefa Cup place as well as their highest top-flight finish for more than 50 years.

As ever, Redknapp wants to strengthen his squad. "If you don't improve and spend money you will be back in trouble again," he said.

Guardian Service