Hodgson pleased with a point

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson was pleased with a point after his under-strength side held Napoli to a stalemate in Italy.

Hodgson left out several first-team regulars - including captain Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres - for the Europa League Group K clash with an eye on Sunday's Premier League game with Blackburn.

Paul Konchesky had to clear off the line and Pepe Reina saved from Edinson Cavani, while Ryan Babel and David Ngog had chances for the Reds as the game ended goalless.

Afterwards, Hodgson believed his side had deserved a draw at least, with the point keeping the Reds two points clear at the top with three games to play, including home games against Utrecht and Napoli.

He told Sky Sports News: "It was a very good point, it was always going to be a very tough match, you saw the atmosphere, you saw the excitement and the interest in the game.

"We had a lot of players who have not played very often in the first team this year, even a player, a young one Jonjo Shelvey making his debut, so the match was always going to be a tough one.

"But I thought we handled it extremely well, I thought we were more than worthy of the point that we got from the game and I thought in the game the team played some good football."