Rafa Benitez, the Liverpool manager, may be full of bravado and all smiles in the build-up to today's crucial top-of-the-table meeting with Chelsea, but that calm persona seems to be masking his true feelings. These are tense times for the Spaniard as the pressure of the English Premier League challenge weighs heavily on his side.
Losing top spot in the table following a disappointing run of seven draws in 10 games means that beating their rivals at Anfield has taken on an even greater importance. The same goes for Luiz Felipe Scolari, his Chelsea counterpart, who has faced similar stress in his first season. He sympathises with Benitez, sharing the frustration of being a manager at a club that craves success, but may also show greater patience.
"I think Benitez is a normal coach," said Scolari, whose side are second, but level on points with Liverpool. "He has a little problem with this or that to build his team. It is the same as me, the same as the other coaches. We try to build the best, but sometimes the result is not what we want." Benitez is ignoring the frenzied debate about his decisions and comments, which have been somewhat bizarre recently.
"There is no extra pressure on me. I can guarantee that I have not read a newspaper, listened to radio or watched TV since the Wigan game [on Wednesday]," he said. "We are in our best position for the last 10-15 years so we have to enjoy it and try to keep doing our best. Every point is important. It doesn't matter what is being said off the pitch." One person who could make the difference is Fernando Torres. The Spain striker has not scored at Anfield since last May, but struck his first goal in English football against Chelsea last season.
"It is a very special memory for me," he said. "Because of this there would be no game that would be better for me to score again at Anfield. We are Liverpool and we are not scared of anyone." And he offered his backing to the coach, adding: "Letting Rafa go would be a mistake and a great pity." Chelsea, who have signed the Turkish midfielder Gokhan Tore, 17, from Bayer Leverkusen, are chasing a fifth straight victory since losing at Manchester United, and are determined to exact revenge after the Reds ended their 86-match unbeaten home record in October.
Frank Lampard said: "We have turned a little corner since we lost to United. We took a bit of a knock to our confidence, but we believe we can win. We are back in second position which is nice and teams are going to drop points." akhan@thenational.ae
