RAFA BENITEZ has taken Liverpool to the Premier League summit but fears there is no margin for error if they are to stay there.

The Reds took pole position when Sunday’s win at Stamford Bridge sent them three points clear, as well as condemning Chelsea to their first home league defeat in four years. It has got everyone at Anfield daring to dream this could be their year at last and given Benitez the problem he has always wanted — playing down genuine title-challenge talk. Benitez, whose side face Portsmouth led by new boss Tony Adams for the first time tonight, insisted: “It has to be the almost perfect season if we want to be at the top of the table by the end.

“You know Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal won’t lose too many. You can say one might make mistakes, but three of them? I don’t think so. “Chelsea won the title one year with 95 points, so how many do you need — 92, 87? What is clear is you can’t lose many games, which is why it’s so difficult.

“Two or three teams don’t get beaten too often and even if you want to be close you have to be winning a lot in a row. “But we have people on the staff who have won titles — Sammy Lee, Mauricio Pellegrino and me as a manager. “And the players have won the Champions League, which is a massive trophy, so we have the experience.”

THE SUN