SOCCER/Chelsea v Liverpool: Liverpool travel to Stamford Bridge tomorrow aware that, with seven games to come in the next three weeks, their form in February will shape their season as they attempt to register only their second league success over an established member of the title challengers' club since Rafael Benitez arrived on Merseyside.
Only Arsenal of the perceived "Big Three" have been beaten by Benitez's Liverpool and that was back in October 2004. Manchester United have dropped only two points from the sides' quartet of meetings, while Jose Mourinho's Chelsea have won their three Premiership encounters against Benitez's side. "We know that, if we want to be in the top two, we have to beat the top teams and that is the challenge for us now," said the midfielder Xabi Alonso before the trip to London. "The first step is Chelsea away and we know that winning there is really, really difficult."
Yet Liverpool's progress has shown signs of stuttering, the late defeat to Manchester United compounded by a concession in the dying moments on Wednesday which presented Birmingham City with a point at Anfield. Weariness appears to be creeping through the squad, with the match at Chelsea the European champions' 41st of the season.
That will prompt Benitez to rotate his squad in the weeks ahead, with critical fixtures against Arsenal, Benfica in the Champions League and United in the FA Cup to come.
"I'd prefer not to discuss tiredness because, if I do, then we'll feel more tired," offered Benitez. "I'll have to try and use the best players for every game. If some of them are tired then okay, we will use others . . . When you talk about trophies, these games (this month) are the kind that can be the difference. The schedule is crazy, but we're competing for the FA Cup, the Champions League and to do something in the Premiership.
"The Chelsea game is an opportunity to reduce the gap but, in these games against the big teams, it comes down to small details. Against United, if Djibril Cisse had scored when he was in front of goal we'd have been looking back at the match in a different way. Small details make all the difference."
Benitez' Chelsea counterpart Mourinho is sounding like the victim of a practical joke who has to laugh along with it as well as a man can through gritted teeth. Chelsea have been incapable of keeping a clean sheet in any of their last six matches. His team drew at Villa Park on Wednesday and Mourinho will still have been annoyed his players did not protect their lead and so take advantage of slips by their distant rivals.
Mourinho is a long way from experiencing his first crisis at Chelsea and could even afford a loss to Liverpool at home tomorrow, but the manager is discovering how it feels to knuckle down for the long haul.
Mourinho once spoke of staying in London for five years, with three Premiership titles and a Champions League honour as the sort of haul that would make his tenure a success. Achievement, however, is a moving target. He has already done so well it will be treated as a scandal if the Premiership title was ever to fall into enemy hands and, sooner or later, the Champions League trophy will be a necessity rather than an aspiration for the owner Roman Abramovich.
Even if Chelsea's first league title in 50 years was only clinched at the Reebok last April, the thrill is long gone. While the present Premiership record of 20 wins, three draws and a loss is identical to the figures at the same stage a year ago, there is a concealed deterioration.
Mourinho's latest schemes to develop Chelsea have so far misfired, with the three signings of the summer still to register on the pitch. Shaun Wright-Phillips, despite being purchased for £21 million, is yet to shake himself loose from the ranks of the substitutes. While circumstances have militated against the injured Michael Essien, he will have to avoid making tackles such as the one he perpetrated on Dietmar Hamann before his £24 million price can be assessed.
The manager put his dissatisfaction with Asier Del Horno on the record a fortnight ago when he said the left-back had "a couple of months" to be "more demanding with himself" if he is to avoid taking "a step back".
On their recent showings, Chelsea are in no condition to take the Champions League. Juventus have an even better record in Serie A while Barcelona, whose tie with Chelsea starts 17 days from now, have, like Mourinho's team, been downed only once in La Liga and their superior panache is not in doubt.
Even with a Premiership to be retained and a possible bid for the FA Cup to pursue, Chelsea's season will feel barren if they leave the Champions League in the last 16.
