Source: Telegraph
Rafa Benitez's Liverpool can rival the best
It will not be one of turmoil, or of doom and gloom, but it is the nature of the business that after the manner of Saturday's defeat, and the way they played, they will have a difficult few days' training until they have a chance to put things right at Fulham next Saturday. The result against Liverpool was not just a defeat, it was an annihilation. [LNB]When you are in a championship race, your attitude and mentality can change so quickly. For United it was not so much complacency that affected them as overconfidence. I remember the same situation fighting for the championship in 1984, when we played Southampton and got beaten 4-1 at the Dell in 1989 – and it could have been 44-1. When the season has been going unbelievably well, particularly for the back four and the goalkeeper, you start to think you are invincible. [LNB] Related ArticlesBenitez is 'cracking up'[LNB]Stunning Liverpool run riot[LNB]How Liverpool beat United[LNB]Gerrard hopeful United can now be caught[LNB]Sir Alex Ferguson challenges Manchester United to become the 'Invincibles'[LNB]Arsene Wenger: Liverpool win over Man United ?flattered? Rafa Benitez's men[LNB]Fortunately for United, any complacency is forbidden under Sir Alex Ferguson. I think he will be absolutely seething about the fact that Wayne Rooney's actions in coming out and declaring he hated Liverpool, because it is a golden rule that you never put undue pressure on yourself or your team-mates. [LNB]The atmosphere is so sensitive before a game of such magnitude that you have a responsibility not to inflame it further. So Rooney was naïve, and it was even more naïve that he sought to justify his statement afterwards. [LNB]But you cannot disguise the truth that during the last week, Liverpool have played unbelievably well. For as good a week as I can recall at the club, I would have to go back to 1984, when we won the Merseyside derby and then went to Steaua Bucharest and beat them, but in terms of the confidence that Liverpool's wins over Real Madrid and United have brought, it has been a sensational seven days. [LNB]The way that Liverpool successfully penned Madrid in last Tuesday night showed the type of tactics that managers have been attempting to adopt there for a long time. It showed how, when you exert the right pressure upon the opposition, you can just roll over the top of them. Even though United remain in pole position in the Premier League, Liverpool will prove really hard to beat in the Champions League. Nobody will want to face them. [LNB]You start to wonder, when you see such displays, whether Rafa Benitez will come to regret how Liverpool played against the lesser teams. But we have also seen how, when he puts his best XI out on the pitch, the team can compete with anybody. With Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres fit, and with everybody in the spine of the team performing well, they are definitely getting closer to United. [LNB]I still do not feel that Liverpool have the same strength in depth as United and if they are to finish second in the title race and United first, this is what will have cost them. So what happens next is that to go back to the issue of Benitez's contracts, to the owners of the club, and to the acquisition of new players who can come and fill in the missing pieces. But that is for another day, and after a week like the last one I would not want to be looking for negatives. These two wins have galvanised everybody at Anfield. [LNB]The tactics on both occasions were what Liverpool and their supporters have been crying out for. The team had a blistering pace that made superstar defences look ordinary. Liverpool have also won 13 points this season against the other teams in the big four, and when you combine this with their Champions League form you see how they are rivalling United. It is encouraging, too, how the two full-backs, Fabio Aurelio and Alvaro Arbeloa, have started to play exceptionally well, appearing comfortable and looking like they are growing into their positions. It is just the times that Liverpool have to rotate that are a concern, but my argument against this would be Sami Hyypia. [LNB]Many other clubs have tried to sign Hyypia, but Liverpool have resisted and on Saturday you could see why. He came in at the last minute against United – although for the Champions League he could not even get in the squad – and he was great in the air, great positionally, and reflected tremendous composure. I believe he is better than a rotating player but Liverpool do not need only one of these players who can step in, they need seven or eight of them. [LNB]Liverpool might not win the league this season, and this will be a because of a succession of highs and lows. But the past seven days have represented a particular high: the best moment of the season for them, a sensational week. [LNB]
