Monday, May 04, 2009

Benitez: United Will Slip Up


Rafael Benitez still insists Manchester United will make enough mistakes to enable Liverpool to catch up with the champions in the title race.

The Reds destroyed Newcastle 3-0 at Anfield on Sunday, though the scoreline could easily have been more embarassing for Alan Shearer's side.

It pushed the Magpies even closer to relegation as goals from Yossi Benayoun, Dirk Kuyt and Lucas did the damage.

The victory kept Liverpool on the heels of leaders United, three points adrift. The Reds could be top if they beat West Ham on Saturday, with United not facing Manchester City until Sunday.

Benitez is now waiting for the "two big mistakes I still believe United will make" in the title race.

He said: "Manchester United are a good team with good players, and they will need to make two big mistakes to let us in. But I still believe they can be caught and they will make mistakes.

"All we can do is to continue to win our matches and see how they handle pressure. We must win all our games to see how that affects them at the top."

Newcastle did not help themselves on Sunday with some woeful defending and with Joey Barton being sent off for a poor tackle on Xabi Alonso. He will be banned for the rest of the season.

Alonso has heavy bruising on his leg, while Javier Mascherano has turned an ankle. But Benitez believes both will be fit for Liverpool's next game at West Ham.

He also expects Fernando Torres to play against the Hammers. He said: "Fernando has suffered a slight hamstring problem. He was nearly ready for this one but certainly would not have started.

"That would have been too big a risk. And then to put him on the bench and maybe have him not warmed up enough to come on would also have been a risk."

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