In any football match, you are going to have periods where you are on top and periods where the opposition are.

The difference between the winners and the losers is scoring when you're doing well and not conceding when you're under pressure.

Unfortunately for Saints on Saturday, they couldn't convert their pressure into goals - but Liverpool could.

And that was a real shame because, on the whole, up until the final third of the pitch, Saints managed to live with Liverpool, hungry to impress their home fans in their first match of the season at Anfield.

That is no mean feat because Liverpool are a seriously good side.

Good goalkeeper, strong at the back - Marian Pahars and James Beattie must think there's some kind of a conspiracy going on after the performances of Gareth Southgate and Sami Hyypia in successive weeks - powerful and dynamic in midfield and boy are they sharp up front.

New £10m man El Hadji Diouf looks the business. Quick feet, great touch, clever skills and, most importantly the finishing to match.

Saints, on the other hand, dominated spells of the game and, for around 40 per cent of it, were the better team and enjoyed sustained pressure.

But there was always the feeling that the goal was never coming, whereas Liverpool looked as though they could score every time they attacked.

It was just that air surrounding the game, that rush of adrenaline every time Steven Gerrard or Michael Owen ran with the ball.

For Saints,it just wasn't quite there and, as they pushed forward, you realised you weren't right on the edge of you seat taking in a sharp intake of breath.

Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier was as honest as ever after the game when he conceded: "We had a good start and got the goal early on but I must say that Saints played well.

"Our performance was as good as it could get because of the opposition and, in the first half for about 20-25 minutes, they were the better team.

"But we now have the mental strength and tactical maturity sometimes to be able to resist and withstand the opposition.

"It was a typical Premiership game because, in a Premiership game - whoever the opposition are, sometimes you have good spells and sometimes you have bad spells.

"And, at that time when we had a bad spell, we showed strength and solidity and, when we had a good spell, we showed some good moves and good skill."

The third goal gave the scoreline a flattering edge to Liverpool but they did deserve the win.

They opened their account after just three minutes when Emile Heskey's drag back left Paul Telfer embarrassed and the England man got to the byline to fire the ball across goal, where Diouf got his body between ball and goal and directed it in.

Alarm bells were ringing amongst the Saints supporters as the horrors of a previous 7-1 defeat began to be relived.

But this was not to be the case this time as Saints took control of the game and started to look the better side.

However, Gordon Strachan's "toothless" factor was there and, throughout the rest of the first period, the Merseysiders looked the more likely.

Michael Owen tucked home Danny Murphy's free-kick that struck the bar, only for the linesman to rule it out, Paul Jones was called upon to make several smart saves and there was a last-ditch goalline clearance.

The pattern of the first half was almost perfectly copied in the second as Saints conceded an early goal when Abel Xavier's throw was flicked on by Heskey to Diouf, who headed home at the far post.

Sure enough, from that moment on, Saints looked good as they squeezed Liverpool up the pitch.

There was always a threat down the left hand side with Wayne Bridge and Chris Marsden picking up where they left off last season and Anders Svensson showing some clever touches in the middle.

Jo Tessem came on to replace the tired Pahars and things started to happen as the Norwegian shook Liverpool up.

Indeed it was his header, after Michael Svensson's overhead kick, that gave Saints their best chance, which was cleared off the line via the post by Murphy.

But there was no goal at the end of it and it was compounded with only seconds left on the clock when Vladimir Smicer found Bruno Cheyrou, who referee Jeff Winter adjudged was tripped by Bridge.

The decision looked harsh but Murphy stepped up to slam home the penalty and convert what was virtually Liverpool's final chance of the match - just as Diouf had converted their first.