Houllier signed several players at the start of the 2002–03 season, including Bruno Cheyrou, Salif Diao and El-Hadji Diouf. The former was preferred to Nicolas Anelka, despite the latter performing well during his loan from Paris Saint-Germain the previous season. Liverpool were unbeaten in their first twelve games in the league, which gave them a seven-point lead. A defeat to Middlesbrough in their next game started a run of twelve games without victory until they beat Southampton 1–0 in January. The club finished the season in fifth place. Despite early exits in the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League, Liverpool won the League Cup, defeating Manchester United in the final. The 2003–04 season started poorly for Liverpool as they lost their first game 2–1 to Chelsea. By the end of the year they had lost six of their eighteen matches in the league. In the second half of the season they only lost a further four games to finish in fourth position securing a place in the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League. They exited the UEFA and League Cup in the fourth round. In the FA Cup, they were eliminated by Portsmouth 1–0 in a fifth-round replay. At the end of the season Houllier was replaced as manager by Rafael Benítez.