English FA Premiership/Liverpool v Chelsea: Dominic Fifieldtalks to a confident Rafael Benitez as he and Jose Mourinho reach their century of Premiership matches
Rafael Benitez and Jose Mourinho bring up their century of Premiership games this afternoon with the Liverpool manager, yet to claim even a point against the Portuguese, insistent that his side boast the self-belief to prevail at Anfield and move within five points of second place.
The Spaniard would move level with Bill Shankly if he records his 56th victory in his first 100 league games, a success rate bettered only by Kenny Dalglish with 61, yet, not for the first time, he must emerge from Mourinho's considerable shadow to do so.
The Chelsea manager has gleaned an astonishing 73 wins in his 99 Premiership matches since assuming the reins in 2004, five of which have come in the quintet of league fixtures between these sides. Benitez is painfully aware Liverpool must improve upon that dismal record if their season is to revive.
He dismissed the suggestion that the Merseysiders may suffer psychologically against these opponents. "We believe we can beat Chelsea," said Benitez, who has masterminded critical victories over the Londoners in the Champions League and FA Cup. Each game between us is really close. We have beaten them in cup competitions and we know we can do the same in the Premiership. The difference is in the small details. If we score first it will be a big difference - it wouldn't mean we'd definitely win, but it would allow us to control the situation.
"We've analysed their strengths and weaknesses this week, and the plan is simple. The players have enough confidence to win this game, and the players think they can beat Chelsea. And we know we need to improve against the top sides. For us, home advantage will be important in this game. We are eight points behind them, and that will be down to five if we win. In a long competition like the Premier League, that would always give you a chance. If we want to challenge them for second place, we need to win this game."
Liverpool's record against Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal remains a source of frustration for Benitez, his side having gleaned only seven points from 15 fixtures against the perceived contenders since he arrived at Anfield.
Indeed, Mourinho was the last manager to lead an away side to a Premiership victory at Anfield, 4-1 in October, 2005. Yet the discontent which has been welling at Stamford Bridge in recent weeks would suggest this to be the best opportunity yet for Liverpool to prove their pedigree, their Spanish manager perhaps empathising more than most with the apparent rift currently between Mourinho and his board.
Benitez's relationship with the hierarchy at his previous club, Valencia, broke down spectacularly despite the manager having eked a first Liga title for the club in 31 years and followed that up with the Uefa Cup and a second league championship.
There were disagreements over player purchases with the sporting director at the Mestalla, Jesus Garcia Pitarch, and an inability to prise significant funds from the chief executive, Manuel Llorente. Indeed, the Valencia board's desire for Benitez to pick Pablo Aimar is echoed by the controversy surrounding Andriy Shevchenko's presence at Stamford Bridge this season.
Given the ructions of recent weeks, the absence of Roman Abramovich at Anfield today could be telling. "I don't know exactly what is happening on the inside there," added Benitez, whose relationship with Mourinho has been fractious at best since the pair arrived in the Premiership.
"My idea is not to talk about things you don't know and, sometimes, not to talk about things you do. But what is important is winning this game. People say they may be without key players, but you never know when it is the right moment to play a team like them. People say they are not in good form and they miss John Terry, but they managed to beat Wigan 4-0 last week.
"There will be pressure on both sides. To win this game would be a huge boost for us for the rest of the season. A win here would give us more focus. This may be our last opportunity to reduce the big advantage they have over us. You must always go one step at a time, but this could be a much bigger step forward than usual."
Guardian Service
