Pressure mounts on Benitez as Liverpool fall to 3-1 defeat at the hands of Villa

I'll keep this short and simple.

Liverpool only lost twice in the entirety of last season, but with only 3 games gone in the 09/10 season, Rafa's boys already find themselves with 2 defeats against their name.

Villa turned up at Anfield today having lost their first and only PL game of the season, a home tie v Wigan, but they showed no signs of that against a sloppy Liverpool side. An open first half ended with Villa 2-0 up, after Lucas slotted one past his own 'keeper, before Curtis Davies headed home just before the whistle. Fernando Torres netted for the Reds with 20 minutes to go, but hopes of a comeback were short lived as Steven Gerrard brought down Nigel Reo-Coker in the box, allowing Ashley Young to slot home from the spot.

The match ended with boos from the Liverpool fans, clearly frustrated at another defeat in a game that they really should have won. Pressure continues to grow on Rafa Benitez who has failed to bring home the PL trophy in the 5 years he's been at Anfield. A squad that lacks depth, unstable owners, and a whole lot of question marks surround the Spaniard, and if the team don't start winning soon, the door could well be open for Rafa to pack his bags and leave.

Transfer news

Inter Milan have sold striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona for an undisclosed fee, with Samuel Eto'o and Alexandr Hleb going the other way - Eto'o also for an undisclosed fee, and Hleb on a year's loan.

Tottenham are close to capturing the signature of Peter Crouch from Portsmouth for £10,000,000. The deal will go through only after Darren Bent is sold to Sunderland, a deal that will conclude in the next 48 hours.

Steve Finnan is in talks with Portsmouth after being released a year early from his Espanyol contract. The ex-Liverpool right-back joined the La Liga side at the start of last season, and is now prepared for a return to the Premier League.

Manchester City's latest targets are two defenders. Arsenal man Kolo Toure, and Everton's Joleon Lescott have both been linked with moves to Eastlands recently, and with big money on the table, who would bet against them making the move?

Portsmouth centre-half Sylvain Distin has been linked with both Aston Villa and Liverpool in recent times, but it looks as if Villa have won the race to capture the Frenchman's signature. Portsmouth however are demanding £4,000,000 for the ex-Man City man, but Villa are only prepared to pay £2,500,000. Liverpool will be waiting in the wings should the deal break down.

Finally, Blackburn have expressed a desire to sign Zenith St Petersburg striker Pavel Pogrebnyak as a replacement for Roque Santa Cruz. The deal is still in early days, so it is hard to say whether it will happen, but it'd be a decent capture for Rovers who have already made 4 new signings this summer.