We used to say that a good ref is one you don't really notice. Unfortunately that is another saying football has lost. Referees now love to grab the limelight, and probably see themselves on par with the players plying their trade on the pitch.

Graeme Poll has now retired, and it seems Rob Styles is intent to take over his heirloom. I can take a bad decision, but Chelsea's penalty award was beyond comprehension. And don't give me the argument for video evidence, either. You can never beat being present in the thick of the action, and Styles was actually that - a couple of metres away from the incident.

Styles just wanted to be controversial but he failed miserably there. He was just ridiculously absurd. He succeeded in taking the wind out of Liverpool's sails, though. I wouldn't say the Reds were comfortably in command then, but they were surely the better team. Rafael Benitez let the referee know what he thought of him in his post-match comments. Visibly fuming, he labelled as ''unbelievable'' the decision which reduced his side's three points to one.

'Liverpool are to be taken seriously, very seriously - there is an air of belief and Champions League qualification is not the realistic target. Liverpool want more'

In the thick of this unjustice and anger at their first home match of the season, Benitez and his side have made a statement to both their fans and rivals. Liverpool are to be taken seriously, very seriously - there is an air of belief and Champions League qualification is not the realistic target. Liverpool want more.

Again, the hunger was visible, the hard work felt and the belief tangible. Taking John Arne Riise off and putting Peter  Crouch on seven minutes from time with the game level said it all. Chelsea, for all their swagger, were winding the clock down. Steven Gerrard was at his best again, covering every blade of the grass, pulling the midfield strings and putting it where it hurts without apologising. The nasty streak is there, the devil of a winner is inside him again and he is being feared.

Fernando Torres's first goal at Anfield took a lot of weight off his shoulders. In the process, though, he showed his class and has definitely added more dimensions, possibilities and options for Liverpool. The Spaniard just accepted Gerrard's routine pass and rather than waiting for help he showed his heels to Tal Ben-Haim, and perfectly placed the ball beyond Petr Cech via the post. Ben-Haim was left for dead - and ridiculed as much as the unwritten law of commonsense was by the man in black.