Riera - Utd under pressure

23 March 2009 15:59
Liverpool winger Albert Riera claims Manchester United are beginning to feel the pressure in the Premier League title race. The Reds followed up their 4-1 Old Trafford success with a 5-0 Anfield rout of Aston Villa to take full advantage of the leaders' shock 2-0 defeat at Fulham 24 hours earlier. Sir Alex Ferguson's side now only hold a one-point lead over Rafa Benitez's men but still have the added benefit of a game in hand over the Merseysiders. Former Manchester City loanee Riera believes that the reigning Premier League and European champions now know that they will not be allowed to walk away with the title. He said: "After the game against United last week when we won at Old Trafford, we showed them that we are still fighting and that we will be until the very end. "Now after winning against Villa and with United losing (at Fulham) I think that they can feel us near to them. "There are a lot of matches to be played in the Premier League and the Champions League and there will be a lot of pressure and I believe that they can feel this." Riera believes Sunday's thrashing of Villa, in which he found the net and captain Steven Gerrard hit a hat-trick, proves Liverpool can handle the intensity of the end-of-season run-in. He added: "It was a great performance from everybody in the team and the most important thing is that we had to win, and we did." Full-back Alvaro Arbeloa believes that Liverpool's blistering start to matches is now becoming decisive. He said: "We had a really good start to the Villa game, and that kind of first-half display is the key to improving our home form. If we can start really well at Anfield it can be important because an early goal can open up a tight match. "You saw what it was like against Real Madrid in the Champions League and they could not cope with us, so I think we have to do the same in all of our home matches. "We are closer to the top but it is best to just focus on how well we are playing. We have a lot of confidence now and I think we are performing at our best level. "We have to keep going, build on the momentum of the past week or so and make sure we fight right up until the end of the season." And the Spain international was quick to praise Gerrard's contribution, adding: "He was excellent and he deserves all the credit he gets because he is a key player for us and performs like a true captain. "He is having an amazing season, and he deserves to be considered the best there is."

Source: SKY_Sports