Rafael Benitez has shrugged off what he believes is a “co-ordinated attack” by Sir Alex Ferguson and Sam Allardyce after the duo attempted to sully his reputation.
Close friends Ferguson and Allardyce joined forces yesterday in launching a curious broadside at the Liverpool manager over an incident during his team’s 4-0 win over the Allardyce’s Blackburn Rovers last Saturday.
But the pair were left even more red-faced than usual after it emerged they had completely misunderstood Benitez’s actions.
After Fernando Torres headed Liverpool’s second against Blackburn, television replays showed Benitez smiling before making a seemingly innocent hand gesture towards his own players.
However, that was enough for Manchester United manager Ferguson to continue his unremitting assault on his title rival by describing the signal as an unforgivable show of contempt towards a fellow Premier League manager.
A clearly distressed Allardyce, speaking at a separate media conference yesterday, believes it was a “disrespectful” and “humiliating” gesture that “typifies the man”.
Benitez, though, has dismissed the furore the pair were creating, and a source close to the Liverpool manager said: “Rafa has laughed off what is clearly a co-ordinated attack on him.”
Emiliano Insua and Xabi Alonso were stood over the free-kick and the understanding is that after Benitez told the deliver the set-piece in a certain way, Alonso ignored the request and struck the cross from which Torres scored.
Benitez’s subsequent reaction was merely to show the pair that perhaps the manager doesn’t always know best, and the players were right.
The fall-out from the incident underlines how Benitez has become marginalised among the region’s managers, with many of his North West counterparts having forged strong relationships with Ferguson over the years.
Liverpool’s emergence as United’s main rivals for the championship has prompted Ferguson to become increasingly vindictive with his verbal tirades against Benitez.
Close friends Ferguson and Allardyce joined forces yesterday in launching a curious broadside at the Liverpool manager over an incident during his team’s 4-0 win over the Allardyce’s Blackburn Rovers last Saturday.
But the pair were left even more red-faced than usual after it emerged they had completely misunderstood Benitez’s actions.
After Fernando Torres headed Liverpool’s second against Blackburn, television replays showed Benitez smiling before making a seemingly innocent hand gesture towards his own players.
However, that was enough for Manchester United manager Ferguson to continue his unremitting assault on his title rival by describing the signal as an unforgivable show of contempt towards a fellow Premier League manager.
A clearly distressed Allardyce, speaking at a separate media conference yesterday, believes it was a “disrespectful” and “humiliating” gesture that “typifies the man”.
Benitez, though, has dismissed the furore the pair were creating, and a source close to the Liverpool manager said: “Rafa has laughed off what is clearly a co-ordinated attack on him.”
Emiliano Insua and Xabi Alonso were stood over the free-kick and the understanding is that after Benitez told the deliver the set-piece in a certain way, Alonso ignored the request and struck the cross from which Torres scored.
Benitez’s subsequent reaction was merely to show the pair that perhaps the manager doesn’t always know best, and the players were right.
The fall-out from the incident underlines how Benitez has become marginalised among the region’s managers, with many of his North West counterparts having forged strong relationships with Ferguson over the years.
Liverpool’s emergence as United’s main rivals for the championship has prompted Ferguson to become increasingly vindictive with his verbal tirades against Benitez.
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