Saturday, September 13, 2008

Rafa Lauds Liverpool Firepower


Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez believes he has just as lethal a strike force as Manchester United and has hit back at criticism from Sir Alex Ferguson.

The two North West rivals are preparing to do battle at Anfield on Saturday, live on Sky Sports 1 and HD 1, with Benitez looking to secure a first Premier League victory over United boss Ferguson.

Champions United are expected to name new £30million signing Dimitar Berbatov alongside Wayne Rooney in a formidable frontline, but Benitez is not overly concerned.

The Reds boss feels £20million summer acquisition Robbie Keane and record arrival Fernando Torres, who moved to Merseyside in 2007 and is a slight fitness doubt, pose an equally potent threat.

"If you talk about price we cannot match them because their strikers are worth £60million and ours are worth £40m," Benitez told Sky Sports News.

"But, in terms of quality, our strikers are really good."

Ferguson has admitted he was surprised that Benitez paid a high fee to Tottenham for 28-year-old Keane.

But former Valencia chief Benitez believes Ferguson has also spent liberally over recent years and has pointed to the examples of Owen Hargreaves, Nani and Carlos Tevez.

"Maybe he (Ferguson) has to think about how much money United are spending every year on a lot of players," added Benitez.

"The last game that we played against them they had Hargreaves, Nani and Tevez on the bench. We are talking about £70m."

Benitez also feels that Ferguson's criticism could act as added motivation for Keane, who has yet to open his Liverpool account.

"Robbie is a good professional. He wants to score against any team. If he can score tomorrow it would be massive for him and for us," concluded Benitez.

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