FA PREMIER LEAGUE: Liverpool v ChelseaA TITLE challenge and a manager's future will both be under scrutiny at Anfield tomorrow, but Rafael Benitez has denied feeling the strain of Liverpool's faltering pursuit of the Premier League. "Everything will change if we beat Chelsea," insisted the Liverpool manager last night as he prepared for a critical encounter with Luiz Felipe Scolari, Tom Hicks, George Gillett and an increasingly alarmed Anfield support.
Hicks and Gillett, Liverpool’s divided owners, will pay a rare visit to Anfield tomorrow with their separate attempts to bring new investors into the club overshadowed by events on the pitch and the manager’s erratic behaviour off it. Seven draws in 10 league games have seen Liverpool hand the initiative in the title race to Manchester United, with Benitez’s team without a win in the four matches since his outburst against Alex Ferguson on January 9th.
Benitez has since followed the attack on the United manager by publicly rejecting a new contract offer from Liverpool’s American owners and staging a bizarre, cryptic press conference following Wednesday’s draw at Wigan Athletic.
But the Liverpool manager, whose side are still only two points adrift of United having played a game more, rejected suggestions that the pressure of delivering the club’s first league title for 19 years is taking a toll and insisted his team will be back in contention with victory tomorrow.
“You are under pressure when you play to avoid relegation,” said Benitez, who yesterday explained his “crazy” comments at Wigan were directed at his team as much as the match officials. “But when you play to win the Premier League, or to progress in the Champions League or the FA Cup, then I have to be pleased to be in this position. It is always the same at a club like Liverpool. I don’t feel under any more pressure than when I was at Valencia and trying to take on Real Madrid and Barcelona.
“This year we have a very good problem. Expectation has gone high. Now we need to manage the situation. Clearly the draws have been disappointing, but everything will change if we beat Chelsea. If we win everyone will be talking about us being back in the title race and saying that we are fantastic, that we have an opportunity again. That’s football.”
Hicks and Gillett will arrive separately on Merseyside before the game and are expected to discuss Benitez’s position afterwards. The Liverpool manager is refusing to sign a lucrative extension until he receives greater control over the club’s transfer budget and policy, although his demand is yet to receive approval from either owner.
The pressure of pursuing Manchester United at the top of the table also appeared to be taking its toll on Scolari last night after the Chelsea manager launched an attack on what he perceived to be refereeing bias which, he claimed, has cost his side vital points at Stamford Bridge this season.
Scolari’s very deliberate criticisms, which are sure to be scrutinised by the Football Association, followed on from his touchline spat with the Middlesbrough number two Malcolm Crosby in midweek and appear to betray a man straining under the weight of United’s recent resurgence.
Both Chelsea and Liverpool could begin tomorrow’s game five points adrift of Ferguson’s side, though Scolari’s frustrations are already boiling over. “I’ve waited 23 games to have a look (at the Premier League) and we’ve had maybe five chances to be given a penalty. None. Or, maybe, a red card or yellow card (for the opposition)? No. Now is the time for me to say this,” said the Chelsea manager yesterday.
GuardianService
