Controlling the game is something of an obsession for Rafa Benitez, and as he is moulding his current Liverpool team into his vision of perfection, some things are clear.

A tightly organised defence is paramount, as is a compact midfield. Defending from the front is nothing new at Anfield and Ian Rush was a superb example to any aspiring striker of to how to start defending on the edge of the opponent's penalty area and it has made a welcome return over the last few seasons.

Benitez's team at Valencia were called "the crushing machine" and for good reason, and his basic instincts remain unchanged.

'Defending is a crucial part of the modern game, and if you want to compete at the highest level something you need to excel at'


His teams could be described as ruthless maybe, efficient certainly. But negative? Hardly! Goals win matches and the current Liverpool team have been scoring them in abundance. They have scored more goals in all competitions this season than any other Premier League side, and fittingly were the first to pass the 100 mark.

In Fernando Torres they possess the country's most exciting striker, complementing perfectly Steven Gerrard, whose driving runs and goals have placed him amongst the cream of the world's midfield players for the last few seasons.

Arsenal may be renowned for their young players and exciting style of play, but ultimately it was a young Benitez find that settled the Champions League clash, and Ryan Babel is only going to get better over the coming seasons.

The comparisons between him and Walcott are quite natural, and Walcott's contribution to Arsenal's equaliser was stunning. In the ensuing ten minutes it was the youngster in red who proved to be the difference though.

Of course real excitement happens in really big matches, and all the sweet passing play in the world means nothing if you aren't competing in the latter stages of the biggest competitions. And it is here that Benitez continues to deliver time and time again.

I doubt anyone would describe the 2005 Champions League final as being boring, nor the following year's FA Cup final. And now Anfield looks forward to yet another European semi-final after beating Arsenal 5-3 over two legs. One team played great Football at times and scored three times, so it would be ludicrous to say the team that scored five were in some way "more boring."

Defending is a crucial part of the modern game, and if you want to compete at the highest level something you need to excel at. Knowing when to attack, and converting those attacks into goals will always be just as important and, thankfully under Benitez, Liverpool are beginning to get that balance just right. If this is "boring" then I hope to be bored for a long, long time!