SOCCER:RAFAEL BENITEZ has confronted the unpalatable prospect of Manchester United equalling Liverpool's record of 18 league titles by refusing to recognise the champions-elect as the finest team in the country. In a begrudging assessment of his fiercest rivals, he also claimed Alex Ferguson is on course for a third successive Premier League crown thanks only to the financial advantage he enjoys over Liverpool.
There was an element of pragmatism in Benitez’ modest appraisal of United yesterday, with Liverpool able to take the title race to the final day should Arsenal triumph at Old Trafford this afternoon and West Bromwich Albion be defeated at The Hawthorns tomorrow. His refusal to concede defeat was secondary to a refusal to offer any credit to Ferguson, however, following a campaign that has fractured the once respectful relationship between the managers at Anfield and Old Trafford.
Liverpool will become the first team to lose only two matches and not win the title should they remain undefeated for the rest of the season and United gain the point they require. Asked if the best team always wins the league, Benitez said: “It just means they have more points.
“If United win the league it means they will have more points, clearly, but there are some very good teams in different positions in the table. It depends on the time of the season. I don’t think I ever said we were playing the best out of everyone, maybe just at certain moments. I do have a lot of respect for the other teams, but to say who is the best at one moment is not easy.”
The Liverpool manager added: “There are a lot of good teams in the Premier League. Without putting them in any order, I’d say Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Arsenal are the best. This year we have shown we are improving and that we are a better team than before. We can still get better but we are in this position because we are winning a lot, have played good football, scored a lot of goals and not conceded many. Eighty points is good, 86 could be much better, and we will try to get there and see what happens. If United have more points, it only means they have more points, that’s all, nothing else.”
Benitez insisted the only difference this season between Liverpool and United, whom they have beaten home and away, lies not on the pitch but on the balance sheet, with Old Trafford’s greater resources providing Ferguson with a deeper and more experienced squad.
“For me, United have a bigger squad with top-class players, but always they spend more than we can spend,” said the Liverpool manager. “If they make mistakes they can use different players, but the level of the two teams is more or less the same.
“Maybe we have to bring in some young players without the experience at this level, and that could be the difference. United are a top side that is spending big money every year on improving its squad and that is the main difference between them and the other teams.”
While Benitez takes pride in Liverpool’s pursuit of United, the club’s Spanish midfielder, Xabi Alonso, has insisted the season cannot be classed a success should it end without a trophy.
“In terms of the Premier League it has been better than it has before but if you don’t win anything you can’t consider it to be a good season,” said Alonso.
Meanwhile, Ferguson has publicly questioned Steven Gerrard’s credentials for winning the Football Writers’ Association player of the year award ahead of Manchester United’s candidates.
While Gerrard took 73 of the votes, 10 higher than Ryan Giggs, the winner of the Professional Footballers’ Association award, he was the only Liverpool player to win more than one nomination, whereas almost half the vote went to Old Trafford players.
“The fact that we had six players in there didn’t do them any good because the vote has been split,” said Ferguson. “Steven Gerrard is a terrific player in his own right and you can’t deny the lad his position in the game but, from the Manchester United perspective, I thought Vidic had a great chance this year.”
