Avram Grant has every right to look worried. Of all the unnerving prospects the Chelsea manager is facing ahead of tomorrow night's Champions League semi-final at Anfield, the sight of a relaxed Rafael Benitez laughing and joking must be the scariest of all. Liverpool's serial worrier suddenly has the air of a man who knows he has the measure of his opponent.
Europe is his chosen specialist subject, and the question of how to beat Chelsea in the Champions League is one he has got right every time so far. Brushing aside Fulham with their shadow squad on Saturday all but guaranteed Liverpool's participation in next season's competition, and Benitez responded with a disarming stand-up routine of wisecracks that contrasted sharply with Grant's recent morose mumblings.
Asked if he saw any differences from the Chelsea team that Liverpool knocked out at the same stage of last season's Champions League, Benitez replied: "Only in the press conferences. You miss Jose Mourinho, but not me. At the end of the day the players will be the key more than the managers. We are just important to say something. But the best thing for a manager to do is not create any mess, so the players can just play."
Liverpool's owners have created enough mess for one club already, but whatever the risk of his alliance with Tom Hicks, Benitez appears to be relishing the prospect of another strategic summit with Chelsea. "We want this game to be a Champions League game, not a Premier League game. We want that in our minds, playing the Champions League style," he added. In other words, he wants to face Chelsea on his own terms.
Resting seven of tomorrow's likely line-up while easing eight points clear of fifth-placed Everton in the race for the fourth enabled Benitez to beat Fulham on his terms. The huge Liverpool following greeted the occasional touch-line warm-up routines of substitute Fernando Torres as loudly as the two goals that Jermaine Pennant and Peter Crouch fired past a hapless Kasey Keller. The fans, like the manager, had their minds on other things. It was soon clear that Liverpool's second string would have too much punch and power for a fading Fulham.
Maybe the minds of many home supporters were more concerned with the credit crunch and falling house prices. Friendly suburban Fulham have looked a little too friendly for the Premier League this season. There were no passionate protests or tears at the end of a game that left them staring relegation in the face. The big worry is that a team who try to play attractive passing football could lack the muscle for a quick return to the top-flight.
After the match, manager Roy Hodgson admitted: "People regard a sign of fighting spirit as players flying round the field smashing into others and knocking them over. We are not that kind of team."
Two of Fulham's three remaining games are away from home, and they need to win them all. A better goalkeeper might have stopped both of the Liverpool goals, and Brede Hangeland and Danny Murphy wasted good chances at pivotal moments, but the core of the team in front of Keller lacked the necessary pace and power to hurt Liverpool. Benitez was barely out of the seat in his dug-out.
He voices a diplomatic public respect for Grant but that perhaps masks a hunch that he can outwit his opposite number in the coming week and record a third semi-final success over Chelsea in four years.
"I watched them at Everton on Thursday and they were playing more or less the same," Benitez said. "Avram is doing his job. I respect him because he is being correct. But, as I've said before, the key to them is Abramovich." Are you listening, Mr. Hicks?
Europe is his chosen specialist subject, and the question of how to beat Chelsea in the Champions League is one he has got right every time so far. Brushing aside Fulham with their shadow squad on Saturday all but guaranteed Liverpool's participation in next season's competition, and Benitez responded with a disarming stand-up routine of wisecracks that contrasted sharply with Grant's recent morose mumblings.
Asked if he saw any differences from the Chelsea team that Liverpool knocked out at the same stage of last season's Champions League, Benitez replied: "Only in the press conferences. You miss Jose Mourinho, but not me. At the end of the day the players will be the key more than the managers. We are just important to say something. But the best thing for a manager to do is not create any mess, so the players can just play."
Liverpool's owners have created enough mess for one club already, but whatever the risk of his alliance with Tom Hicks, Benitez appears to be relishing the prospect of another strategic summit with Chelsea. "We want this game to be a Champions League game, not a Premier League game. We want that in our minds, playing the Champions League style," he added. In other words, he wants to face Chelsea on his own terms.
Resting seven of tomorrow's likely line-up while easing eight points clear of fifth-placed Everton in the race for the fourth enabled Benitez to beat Fulham on his terms. The huge Liverpool following greeted the occasional touch-line warm-up routines of substitute Fernando Torres as loudly as the two goals that Jermaine Pennant and Peter Crouch fired past a hapless Kasey Keller. The fans, like the manager, had their minds on other things. It was soon clear that Liverpool's second string would have too much punch and power for a fading Fulham.
Maybe the minds of many home supporters were more concerned with the credit crunch and falling house prices. Friendly suburban Fulham have looked a little too friendly for the Premier League this season. There were no passionate protests or tears at the end of a game that left them staring relegation in the face. The big worry is that a team who try to play attractive passing football could lack the muscle for a quick return to the top-flight.
After the match, manager Roy Hodgson admitted: "People regard a sign of fighting spirit as players flying round the field smashing into others and knocking them over. We are not that kind of team."
Two of Fulham's three remaining games are away from home, and they need to win them all. A better goalkeeper might have stopped both of the Liverpool goals, and Brede Hangeland and Danny Murphy wasted good chances at pivotal moments, but the core of the team in front of Keller lacked the necessary pace and power to hurt Liverpool. Benitez was barely out of the seat in his dug-out.
He voices a diplomatic public respect for Grant but that perhaps masks a hunch that he can outwit his opposite number in the coming week and record a third semi-final success over Chelsea in four years.
"I watched them at Everton on Thursday and they were playing more or less the same," Benitez said. "Avram is doing his job. I respect him because he is being correct. But, as I've said before, the key to them is Abramovich." Are you listening, Mr. Hicks?
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