Football: Liverpool Riise to the occasion and stun Jose; POST SPORT SPECIAL ON THE COMMUNITY SHIELD.

Byline: By IAN DOYLE at the Millennium Stadium 

PERHAPS now Jose Mourinho will reconsider his view Liverpool are not genuine challengers to Chelsea's Premiership crown this season. The sight of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher lifting the Community Shield in Cardiff yesterday after a thoroughly-merited win for Rafael Benitez's side is unlikely to cause the Portuguese to lose any sleep.

But while such curtain-raisers have a reputation for being notoriously wayward indicators for the league campaign ahead, it will be impossible for Mourinho, and the rest of the Premiership, to ignore the signals emanating loudly from the Millennium Stadium.

The psychological effect of this result, no matter how small, will be felt at Stamford Bridge. And at Anfield, it will underline the feeling that has been growing within the camp with every new arrival over the summer.

Peter Crouch's 80th-minute header sealed another cup success for Liverpool over Mourinho and continued their welcome knack of gaining silverware under Benitez.

But it's the manner of the triumph that will be of greater encouragement to the manager, the improvements sought by those close season incomings slowly starting to reveal themselves. Even Mourinho had to concede Liverpool's win had been deserved.

The Premiership gap between Liverpool and Chelsea two seasons ago was a mammoth 37 points. Last term, it was down to nine.

Yesterday's evidence suggests the teams will be even closer this time around.

True to character, Mourinho is less convinced, and neatly sidestepped the issue in the post-match Press conference. But each public utterance dismissing Benitez's men betrays his fear that Liverpool, and not Manchester United or Arsenal, will be the chief threat to a third successive championship.

As ever, both managers were playing down the significance of the outcome afterwards. But don't be fooled by talk of yesterday's game being a mere friendly. After all, Chelsea and Liverpool don't do friendly.

The cautions accrued by debutant Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard in the opening quarter indicated the Londoners were taking this game as seriously as the previous 10 meetings since Benitez and Mourinho arrived in the Premiership two years ago.

Admittedly, Liverpool benefited from having shaken off in midweek much of the ring-rustiness that obviously affected Chelsea yesterday.

However, while the Londoners were only a few players short of their first-choice team, Benitez took the opportunity to rotate his squad by resting regular starters Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso and Sami Hyypia.

Instead, it was Mohamed Sissoko who again shone with an indomitable display in the centre of midfield, eclipsing the Chelsea triumvirate of Ballack, Lampard and Michael Essien.

Daniel Agger, now free of injury, was comfortable alongside agher at centre-back while there was a first glimpse of Fabio Aurelio, the azilian signing from Valencia.

Mark Gonzalez also impressed on his first start.

Craig Bellamy also made an impact once more, his run and cross from the left flank providing the winner for Crouch, who is off the mark this season a good deal quicker than last.

As for Chelsea, new boy Ballack endured a miserable first competitive outing in English football, picking up a booking inside seven minutes for a foul on Sissoko before being forced off with a hip injury less than 20 minutes later.

By then, Liverpool had marked a promising opening with a goal in the ninth minute that owed probably as much to some slack Chelsea defending as it did John Arne Riise's individual perseverance.

Picking up the ball on the right of the Liverpool area from an over hit Chelsea corner, Riise put his head down and ran and ran.

A retreating John Terry finally realised it would be best to close the ball down, but Riise had already unleashed a venomous 20-yard shot that went straight through a weak attempt to save from stand-in Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini.

Rattled, Chelsea lost their composure. Lampard was extremely lucky to receive only a caution after kicking out at Zenden - more precise with one unwise boot than with 25 shots during the World Cup - and Paulo Ferreira sent a ridiculous backpass narrowly wide of his own goal from the edge of the area.

Gonzalez then worked Cudicini with an angled drive before Liverpool came close to doubling their advantage three minutes before the interval.

A fine, one-touch passing move around the Chelsea area culminated with Garcia feeding Gonzalez on the left, who whipped in a low cross that Garcia and Crouch were falling over themselves to convert, the ball looping off the Spaniard toward goal before Cudicini palmed over under pressure from Crouch.

Andriy Shevchenko had been subdued during a first half in which Liverpool were resoundingly in control, firing off one speculative shot from 20 yards that Pepe Reina grabbed at the second attempt but often dropping into centre midfield in search of a glimpse of possession.

However, the threat is always there with the Ukrainian and so it proved on 43 minutes. With Liverpool's midfield momentarily switching off, Lampard punted a long ball over the top for an unmarked Shevchenko to chase in on goal and sidefoot beyond Reina.

Boudewijn Zenden badly miscued when given a decent opportunity by Garcia's persistence five minutes into the second half, but Chelsea, invigorated by the equaliser, were briefly the livelier, Reina saving well at his near post to paw away Shevchenko's header from a Lampard corner.

The expected glut of substitutions that followed ensured a staccato remainder of the match.

That was before the decisive moment 10 minutes from time when, after being fed by Aurelio down the left, Bellamy cut back on to his right foot and curled a cross to the far post where Crouch headed powerfully home.

Only the agility of the Chelsea goalkeeper Cudici prevented an even greater margin of victory, the Italian palming behind Aurelio's snapshot.

It didn't matter. Liverpool had already made their point.

MAN OF THE MATC H . . .

Momo Sissoko

Continued his excellent start to the season with a dominant display

CHELSEA 1

Shevchenko 43

LIVERPOOL 2

Riise 9, Crouch 80

CHELSEA: Cudicini, Paulo Ferreira (Mikel 81), Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Essien, Geremi (Bridge 53), Ballack (Kalou 26), Lampard, Shevchenko, Drogba (Wright-Phillips 71), Robben (Diarra 62). Subs: Hilario, Mancienne.

BOOKED: Ballack, Lampard, Diarra..

LIVERPOOL: Reina, Finnan, Agger, Carragher, Riise, Pennant (Gerrard 60), Sissoko, Zenden (Alonso 60), Gonzalez (Aurelio 56), Crouch (Sinama Pongolle 89), Luis Garcia (Bellamy 66). Subs: Dudek, Hyypia.

BOOKED: Alonso.

REFEREE: Martin Atkinson ATT: 56, 2 75

CAPTION(S):

Liverpool striker Peter Crouch celebrates his goal in front of fans at the Millennium Stadium yesterday' Momo Sissoko (left), Andriy Shevchenko notches Chelsea's equaliser and Jose Mourinho (right)' John Arne Riise fires home Liverpool's glorious opener and Peter Crouch (top, inset) heads home the winner in Cardiff