Rafa fumes as Reds’ title hopes suffer early setback

THIS was supposed to be the day for Liverpool to bellow their title aspirations to the rest of the Premier League.

In the event, they could barely muster a whimper.

Rafael Benitez’s side were deservedly beaten by a slick and sprightly Tottenham team, who scored fine goals either side of half-time through Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Sebastien Bassong, and Benitez’s complaints in the aftermath about two penalty claims and the age of the fourth official, Stuart Atwell, appeared to be little more than the wispiest of smokescreens.