Hyypia Doesn't Mind Winning Ugly

The Reds maintained their place atop the Premier League table with a 1-0 victory against Portsmouth on Wednesday night.

It was a flat performance, especially when compared with their triumph against Chelsea at the weekend. It took a moment of madness from Papa Bouba Diop to allow Steven Gerrard to give his side the win from the penalty spot.

The hosts dominated possession and passed the ball well enough, but the finishing touch was missing as Dirk Kuyt - despite his strong all-round showing - reminded everyone why Rafael Benitez decided to splash out on Fernando Torres.

Liverpool were untroubled at the other end, as Hyypia - aided by the ever-reliable Jamie Carragher - kept Peter Crouch, his former team-mate, relatively quiet.

And the 35-year-old claimed that he is unconcerned with how games are won as long as the three points are obtained.

The Result

“The result is always more important than how you play,” Hyypia told the press. “At the beginning of the season there were some games in which we didn’t perform brilliantly but got the result.

“If, come May, we are at the top of the table then nobody will remember that we played bad football at the beginning of the season.

“They’ll just remember that we kept on getting the points — and the result is more important than how you end up getting it.”

Liverpool's newfound ability to accumulate results despite playing well below their potential has turned a few heads, and many are whispering that this might finally be their year.

18 years have passed since the English championship went to Anfield. Hyypia has been around for nine of those, having signed from Willem II in 1999.

Stronger

“The difference from the previous seasons is that, in the summer, we made some good signings who have settled into the team straight away,” continued the Finnish international. “We also have a lot of competition for places, which is something we maybe haven’t had as much of in past seasons.

“I think this season maybe we are a bit stronger mentally, too. You only have to look at the way in which we have won some games to see that.

“Every year it seems to be becoming more and more difficult to be on top, what with the other teams all strengthening their squads. But so far, so good.

“Hopefully we can keep on going like we have done. It’s still early days though, so we will keep our feet on the ground. We are letting all the other people do the talking. We’re not ones to go shouting about what we are going to do.

“But it was important to keep the momentum going after our win at Chelsea.”

Hyypia, who has started just twice in the Premier League this season, is likely to make way for Daniel Agger when Liverpool travel to Tottenham this weekend.

Mike Maguire