Chelsea already looking like champions as they pile pressure on Liverpool with victory at Anfield Chelsea will waltz to the title by Easter, coveting favourable comparisons with previous Mourinho teams, and victories at Anfield are a barometer. Mourinho courts the role of pantomime villain in this arena, but by full-time on Saturday The Kop was directing so much fury at the Liverpool team he must not have recognised the place. This was a fractious afternoon, Brendan Rodgers" approval rating dipping as despair about the quality of Liverpool's squad morphed into rage. Liverpool finished above Chelsea last season, but they had Luis Suárez then. Their response to his exit has been the equivalent of removing the engine from a sports car and adding nine pedals. This was a meeting between a club that knows what it is doing in the transfer market, and another that is at best naive and at worst looks incompetent. Mourinho did not speak about Liverpool's failings, but the eulogy about his own club must be underlined. "We got players to improve the team, not the squad," he said. Chelsea added two top-class internationals for £60 million to go from third to first, £60 million less than Liverpool paid for their nine recruits to go from second back to mid-table. The difference is quality of personnel, not only of those bought but those trusted with doing the buying. Remarkably, one of those recruits, £16m striker Mario Balotelli, was last night recalled to the Italy squad for their upcoming Euro 2014 qualifiers. Liverpool evidently saw being two points off the title as the perfect foundation for another period of transition. The club must be in love with evolution, thus ensuring every success they have had in the last 20 years can be presented as ahead of schedule. It is a bluff disguising gargantuan transfer blunders. This failure of recruitment puts value on keeping a light at the end of the tunnel instead of grasping the opportunity to fully emerge from darkness. If Liverpool owner John W Henry wanted a box of matches, his transfer committee would convince him it made more sense to invest in acorns for a giant oak. There might not be any flames now, John, but give it a few years and think how many bonfires we'll be lighting then. Rodgers is the focal point but it is not just him. He wanted more last May. "I would rather have one or two absolute top players than seven that might not help us," he said then. It's about the quality. We can't be going into the Champions League this year with doubts about players. We have to be going in knowing what the players" capacity to play is and their capabilities." On Saturday he repeated a different message. "We know what targets we wanted but, for one reason or another, they went elsewhere," he said. We have signed talented young players. Over their time here, whether it is with me or not, they will show they are very good players. We were in a great position at the end of last season. We had Champions League football and a way of working. We just have to work harder and smarter to convince these players to come. The natural conclusion is Liverpool are not only incapable of keeping their best players - see Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, Fernando Torres and Suárez - but can no longer sign players of similar repute. Costa, Alexis Sánchez, Willian, Radamel Falcao, Edinson Cavani, Henrik Mkhitaryan are just a few of those Liverpool courted but could not lure. "If someone offers them more money to go to London, there is not much you can do about that," said Rodgers. This is not solely for the Liverpool manager to explain, nor is it a recent problem. The biggest reason for the club's dips since 1991 is lousy recruitment, from Graeme Souness through to the latter years of Gérard Houllier and Rafael Benítez to the Damien Comolli £100 million vanity project of 2011 he is still laughably justifying. Of the 19 signings made by the Liverpool transfer committee, only the first two - Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge - would get into a top-four side. The next time anyone at Anfield moans about Financial Fair Play and clubs buying titles, they should be reminded it is not how much you have that counts, but how you spend it. That is why Chelsea will be champions again. Champions need luck: Big decisions go Blues" way Sept 21: Manchester City 1 Chelsea 1 City claim for a penalty when Edin Dzeko goes down under a challenge from Diego Costa in the box but Mike Dean waves away their appeals. Oct 5: Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0 Gary Cahill fortunate to receive just a yellow card for a tackle on Alexis Sánchez that leads to a confrontation between Jose Mourinho and Arsène Wenger. Fabregas blocks Jack Wilshere's shot with his arm but nothing is awarded. Oct 18: Crystal Palace 1 Chelsea 2 Palace manager Neil Warnock claims referee Craig Pawson's decision to send-off Damien Delaney is "influenced" by pressure from Chelsea's players. Nov 1: Chelsea 2 Queens Park Rangers 1 Harry Redknapp says it was a "harsh" to award Chelsea penalty when Edin Hazard went down under a tackle from Eduardo Vargas. Hazard scored the winner from the spot. Nov 8: Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 Ramires appears to hit Raheem Sterling in the face with a forearm smash but the Liverpool man is booked. Gary Cahill is at the centre of two handball appeals, with Liverpool furious over the second claim. Raheem Sterling: One of Liverpool's few encouraging performers, fighting for the ball and taking on a formidable defence. Has been in good form in an average side - same as with England. Jordan Henderson: Average all season, going from an underrated player to one who is now overrated. Does not create enough or score enough to be a top-class midfielder. Rickie Lambert: Hardly gets a game at Liverpool and struggles with brief cameos. Not in contention to start for his country. Needs to find a way to enjoy football again. Gary Cahill: Showed his character to equalise after playing his part in conceding Liverpool's goal.