Saturday, September 13, 2008
LIVERPOOL manager Rafael Benitez confronts his own personal football nightmare today aware victory over champions Manchester United could ignite his side’s season.
The Spaniard faces a team he has never beaten in the Barclays Premier League and one that has frequently destroyed any hope the Anfield side have had of taking the title.
Liverpool’s last home league win against their bitterest rivals was back in 2001, they have lost the last five clashes between the clubs.
Benitez has managed only one victory over United counterpart Alex Ferguson in nine meetings during his time at Anfield, in the FA Cup in 2006.
No wonder Benitez is desperate for a change of fortune. "These games against top sides are always important. It is just three points on offer but we all know this is different," he said.
"If we can beat them, with our current position in the table, it could be worth more. Our confidence would go really high and everyone would be boosted, but it is too soon to be talking about the title.
"We know our record is not good against them, but we feel we are improving. We will see on the pitch how close we are."
It is on the pitch Liverpool’s summer signing Robbie Keane will no doubt be trying to prove a point to Ferguson, who expressed "surprise" at the £20million (€25m) fee Liverpool paid for him.
No clash between these two sides goes by without an attempt by Ferguson to wind up the opposition and this lunchtime showdown in no different.
Benitez, who has named injury doubts Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard in his squad, said: "I was surprised when he questioned the fee for Keane. "Maybe he should look at how much money they are paying each season for a lot of players.
"The last time we played them they had around £70m (€88m) worth of players on the bench.
"What was said could motivate Robbie, but then he is a good professional and wants to score against any team. If he can score against United, though, it will be massive for him and for us. Maybe in 24 hours everything will be okay for him."
Benitez added: "I am not jealous of United’s money. I am happy here and in the future I will try to bring in good players, who are maybe cheaper.
"But when these games come around nobody thinks of money out on the pitch. We will concentrate on winning and if we can do it we will be in a better position at the end of the season. But to finish above them we have to beat them. If we can do that we will have more confidence for the rest of the campaign."
But Benitez was clearly riled by Ferguson’s comment, adding: "Maybe he is surprised because Robbie was so cheap, because they paid over £30m (€38m) for his former Spurs colleague (Dimitar) Berbatov, maybe eventually £35m (€44m) for (Carlos) Tevez and close to £30m (€38m) for (Rio) Ferdinand.’’
Benitez added: "We feel in Torres and Keane we have a strike partnership that can rival United’s.
"I do not think there is a mental problem with our players over not beating United in the league.
"We have beaten them in a cup tie and there is no reason we cannot beat them in the league. All our players passionately want that.
"If we want to be real contenders than we have to beat the top sides. We are getting better but we know that we must improve against the top sides.
"We must be stronger as a team – tactically, mentally, technically – because United are a great team, and a win against them would give us a huge lift."
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