Dalglish pleased with telling display

Kenny Dalglish believes Liverpool got the result they deserved in their defeat of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

The Reds produced a polished display to run out 2-1 winners in a result that was lit up by one outstanding team goal finished by Maxi Rodriguez and a sensational solo winner by Glen Johnson.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Dalglish said: “I think we played really well in the first half, they got back in it in the second, scored an equaliser and put us under pressure.”

“The players hung on in there and the result matched their ambition.”

“It was a great finish from Glen, though I don’t know what he was doing there. It gives an indication of (the players’) commitment and what they were hoping to get from the game.”

“We were happy with how they played and delighted to get three points.”

The Scot singled out Rodriguez, who started his first Premier League match of the season, and Craig Bellamy for praise after they took full advantage of their opportunities in such a prestigious fixture.

“Maxi likes the temperature in London, he is a really intelligent footballer, as is Craig Bellamy. I appreciate their professionalism.”

“They look after themselves and you can see how good they are in their performances today.”

Meanwhile, Dalgish’s opposite number Andre Villas-Boas was forced to fend off questions about his future after overseeing his side’s third defeat from their last five league matches.

The Portuguese boss dismissed the possibility that he could be sacked by Roman Abramovich by saying it would cost the Chelsea owner a fortune to get rid of him.

Villas-Boas insisted that he would not leave the post while remaining firm in his belief that Chelsea are not in transition and can win trophies this season.

“The owner didn’t pay 15 million euros to get me out of Porto to then pay another fortune to get me out of Chelsea,” Villas-Boas told reporters.

“We have set out to build something new and the club is committed to taking what we are building to the future. Our commitment is to the club and what we are doing in the future. That is the commitment we have to take now.”

“There is no running away from responsibilities. There is no calling this a year of transition. We are not calling for time to work. We are in four competitions and have possibilities in all four competitions.”

Villas-Boas, who is the youngest manager in the Premier League and in only his third season as a top-flight boss, added that his lack of experience was irrelevant.

“I don’t take it as an individual bad run. We are, as a club, on a bad run.”

“It is not a question of new things to me. It is about solving it as a group – nobody wants to have experience of defeats.”