The Reds defender is backing their rivals from up the East Lancs Road to crack under the pressure...

Liverpool centre-back Martin Skrtel thinks that the pressure exerted by him and his team-mates on Manchester United will be too much for the Red Devils to handle, and Liverpool's 19-year-long drought for the league title will come to an end this season..

Liverpool mauled their rivals 4-1 at Old Trafford a week and a half ago, and United slipped up again when they were beaten 2-0 in west London at the weekend by Fulham. Skrtel is sure that there will be further errors from Alex Ferguson's men as the season's end nears and the pressure grows ever more intense.

"I think yes, because there are eight games left or so," he told deniksport.cz.

"They are also in the UEFA Champions League. A lot of points are still up for grabs, and although they have a match against Portsmouth in hand, they will not have it easy against them.

"I just hope that we will stay in-form, they will slip-up and we will jump over them in the table."

The Slovak also feels that his club manager Rafa Benitez deserves much of the credit for Liverpool's more sustained title challenge this year, and hailed the effect the Spaniard has had on his personal game, adding, "It is good for us players as well as for the fans and the whole club, because Benitez has done a great piece of work during his time at Liverpool.

"He is enormously popular here and I think that he is a coach of great qualities. He has also helped me personally.

"He has taught me a lot. Thanks to him we work a lot on tactics and game discipline. I have improved in both aspects."

Liverpool thrashed Aston Villa 5-0 at the weekend, a result many felt has ended the Midlanders push for a top four finish. The Villans face United next though and Skrtel did not rule Martin O'Neill's men out from still having a vital part to play in the destination of this season's Premier League crown.

He concluded, "It will not be an easy game for them. Aston Villa are still aiming for a Champions League spot and will not give them anything easy.

"We will see. It would be great if they could play better than against us and steal a point or three from United."

- Goal.com

LONDON (AFP) — Guus Hiddink admits Chelsea might have spurned their best opportunity of overhauling Manchester United in the Premier League title race.

The west Londoners could have slashed United's advantage at the top of the table to a single point after Sir Alex Ferguson's side were surprisingly beaten 2-0 at Fulham on Saturday, their second defeat in as many matches.

But Chelsea failed to capitalise as they slumped to a 1-0 loss at rivals Tottenham, leaving their hopes of restoring the title to Stamford Bridge after a three-year absence in tatters.

Instead, it is Liverpool who now appear to have the best chance of making United sweat as the run-in gains pace over the coming weeks.

"We lost a huge opportunity, knowing that United were losing, it was a great chance to really change things," Hiddink said. "These are the typical days in a tough league. They are key moments. If Manchester United lose, we have to strike but we didn't do that.

"There's not just pressure on United but also ourselves and Liverpool. When you're chasing you have to win your games but to lose the goal as we did in the 10 minutes after half-time, with so many professionals and internationals, is bad for us."

Hiddink could barely contain his annoyance with his side, who were inexplicably lacklustre at White Hart Lane.


The Dutchman, who is in charge on an interim basis until the end of May, when he will return to manage the Russian national side permanently, was especially irritated by their sloppy start to the second half.

Chelsea, having been distinctly second best before the interval, compounded their woes with some flaky defending which allowed Aaron Lennon to exploit space on the right wing. The England international's cross was met first time by Luka Modric, whose excellent low shot found the bottom corner.

Falling behind knocked the stuffing out of the visitors and it was not until the last 15 minutes that Chelsea finally generated some meaningful attacking momentum. But Heurelho Gomes made fine saves from headers by Alex and John Terry and Spurs deservedly held on for a famous victory.

Hiddink will have plenty to ponder as he leaves England for the first time since his appointment at Stamford Bridge. He is due to travel first to Amsterdam, to visit his elderly father, and then on to Moscow where he will begin planning for the World Cup qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein.

But the former PSV Eindhoven manager refused to accept that Chelsea were distracted by his impending international commitments.

"We missed this opportunity due to our start in the second half," Hiddink complained. "We talked about that at half time. We knew they would come at us from the start and we emphasised that but it was very sloppy defence for their goal.


"Sometimes, there are circumstances where you can't always look for the best solution when the ball is in a dangerous part of the pitch: we have to just clear instead. We must learn from that."

Hiddink's dark mood was in stark contrast to that of Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, whose side are suddenly eying a belated charge for seventh place, a finish which will guarantee Europa League football next season.

Redknapp could barely disguise his disdain for the UEFA Cup when he took control at White Hart Lane this season, and regularly complained that the extra fixtures placed too great a burden on his squad.

But he has attributed that attitude to Spurs' other commitments, rather than contempt for the competition itself.

"It wasn't that I disrespected the UEFA Cup - we were in a relegation battle and the League Cup final," he said. "I had to prioritise. If we had been in the top half we would have gone for it.

"We'll go for it again this season so let's push on and try and get seventh. We need to start looking upwards as a club - our recent form demands that because it's been terrific."

- AFP

Seeing Pavlyuchenko giving media statement is like seeing Simon Cowell in American Idol. Its not something you want to hear but its the truth.

Here's what he says: -

He expressed some admiration for Irishman Robbie Keane, whilst his words for Dimitar Berbatov were not as glowing.

"Robbie Keane returned to the Spurs as if he never left the club. It's evident that he's a man of authority inside the team which is good for us. He was always liked as far as I can judge," he continued.

"If Berbatov returned it would be taken quite differently.

"I heard tales that he was an arrogant snob who after a training session would just throw his dirty boots to the man who takes care of our footwear saying: 'Clean them for me!'

"No one likes such people. Still he's now playing for Manchester United."

No disrespect to all Berbatov's lovers out there but I actually believe what he said. If you don't believe me its ok but look at the way he play. Every time he ask for the ball and didn't get it the way he wanted it to be, he makes certain disguise look at his teammate although he just few months at the club.

Compare that to so called 'arrogant' Ronaldo. For God's sake, he is the best player in the world. We all know Ronaldo's dream is to play for Real Madrid but for the time being he is United's player and he's giving 100% in every game and never complain. Or look at Tevez, he's just a loan player but give everything just to play in every match. Be grateful Berbatov!

You can read the whole story here.

Why on earth people keep poking other people's business instead of focusing on their own problem or in this case their game? Figo is a great player but if he keeps making this kind of statement, people are going to lose their respect for him. I believe nobody have the rights to say this kind of things.

You can read the whole story here.

Each player has their own contract which they should respect it because nobody force them to sign it; its their own decision. And please, don't called it a 'slavery'. No slave in history get paid £120,000 per week. I want to be that kind of slave too. Real's era is over and its time for other clubs to win the Champion League too.

To be honest, I'm against Berbatov's move to United because he is being disrespect to Spurs fans and disloyal to the club which is not the way you should end your career at any club. And to Figo, if Real Madrid is that great, why did your beloved club sold you? They thrown you away because you're old whereas we still have Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes continue giving their best service althought not with 100% capability.

Year 2009 seems to be another great year for us. Tonight, Liverpool dropped another 3 important points which leave us with 7 points lead at the top of the league with a game in hand. Chelsea trying to close up the gap but only goal difference separate the second place; both with 55 points.


I can't believe myself that Liverpool were beaten 2-0 by struggling Middlesbrough at the Riverside but like I said earlier, anything can happen in football. Chelsea also very lucky after Lampard managed to score the winning just before the final whistle. Here's the full result for Liverpool and Chelsea: -


Arsenal meanwhile pickup another draw, this time against Fulham. This is shocking to me because they not only in danger losing Champion League spot but also the UEFA Cup place with Everton just 2 points behind them. With current situation, I don't think Aston Villa dropping lots of points until the end of the season, same goes to Everton.

Tottenham Hotspur will head into Sunday's League Cup final hoping the claim their second consecutive title, having downed Chelsea 2-1 in extra time last year.

Manchester United are Spurs' opponents this time around, but Harry Redknapp has insisted his men won't park the bus against the Premier League leaders.

"You respect but don't fear them because we also have good players for them to worry about," the Lilywhites boss said in The Guardian.

"You have to make sure you stay in the game and therefore there is no point going out there and starting gung-ho. You need to adopt a good shape, be solid, have a plan and know what you are doing against them.

"But we won't sit back – we will have a go. We have good attacking players and we hope to cause them problems as well."

I have lots of respect for Harry Redknapp. He always been the guy that save the club from being relegated. I'm looking forward to watch the final on Sunday and hopefully we can bring back the first domestic trophy of the season.

Still remember my last post, Ronaldo vs Ibrahimovic. I guess when most critics says that Ronaldo couldn't perform at big stage, we could say the same thing about Ibrahimovic. I can't believe that Mourinho think that this guy should be awarded as the world best player.

Look what he says after the game.

“We have a great chance of going through,” Zlatan Ibrahimovic boasted on the Beneamata’s official website.

“We did not manage to take a lead, but we also prevented them from doing it. That is not a bad thing.”

Jose Mourinho’s men had few scoring chances and had to thank goalkeeper Julio Cesar for a string of superb saves.

“It was a beautiful match,” noted the Swedish international. “They were the better side in the first period, but we were superior in the second half.

“They are a great team but so are we. We will now travel to Manchester and win. We’ll see what happens.”

Jose Mourinho has revealed he had to play a rearguard action against Manchester United at the San Siro to protect his team from conceding a crucial away goals.

Mourinho will hope Inter can emulate his FC Porto side and knock Manchester United out on their own turf.

"They are a very quick team and we don't have these characteristics,'' he explained. "The only reason I lost only once against Manchester United is that I understood this immediately.

"If they had scored in the first half, the situation would have been harder for us and, for this, it is not an easy decision to make to sit deep and try to block them.''

After reading the news, I can't believe it that Mourinho still think that United are the same team he beat at Porto. I guess after getting sack last year, he didn't watch football at all. Still remember how United beat Barcelona? As much I hate to say this, Barcelona was a better team than United at last year semi-final. Compare to Inter this year, I don't think United have any problem to progress to the next round.

Both managers has different view on last night game and ahead of the second leg at Old Trafford in 2 weeks time. The Special One believes the result at the San Siro does not favour either side and everything remains in the balance for the second leg.

"Manchester United are not Bologna and going to play there in the Champions [League] will not be like playing an away match in the championship," he said to the microphones of SKY, following the match.

"The 0-0 result is difficult for everyone. We cannot lose, but they cannot have a scoring draw or they will be out."

While for Sir Alex Ferguson, despite failing to score against Inter, he professed himself happy with the goalless draw.

Speaking to ITV after the game, Ferguson said he believed his side had played well and had put in a mature display.

“I think we played very well,” explained the Scot.

“I think in the second half for about 10-15 minutes they exerted a bit of pressure which we expected, we spoke about it at half-time, but other than that we played very, very, well with good composure and maturity.”

With nothing separate the two teams, Mourinho knows he should do everything in his power to get his team to the next round of Champion League. This is another series of Mourinho's mind game ahead of the 2nd leg.

There were many decisions last night that in favor to us but you can’t blame the referee for that. Look at the way Inter’s players behave inside and outside the pitch. They deserved what they get. As usual, Ronaldo became the main target and some of the tackles were too harsh, it’s like they’re trying to get him injured. Same goes to Evra.

Here’s what he says after the game: -

"Maybe in the second game we will have a referee who is on our side," the Portuguese coach told reporters after the match.

"If we go to Old Trafford and we don't have the same referee - but we have one who will give the away team so much protection - then my team will get to the quarter-final."

Mourinho made reference to Inter's ignored penalty appeal after Adriano appeared to be hauled down by Rio Ferdinand at a corner, but he refused to dwell on single instances.

"I don't want to go into details of things like how we didn't have a penalty. Everything was against us, every little detail," the former Chelsea boss said.

"You watch how many free kicks they had and we had. The way we got yellow cards and they did not. I think the tendency was clear."

I don't know whether this is a good news or not for us. Sportmediaset.it states that the players did not expect the snub and it came as a shock when ‘The Special One' announced his line-up on Monday.

It is believed both players are furious with the choice, especially Vieira, who played a part in Saturday's win over Bologna. However, the Frenchman was calm when he explained his disappointment to L'Equipe.

"It's a choice made by the coach, however, I am really surprised," said Vieira.

"I thought I would play [against United] as I have been picked for the last two games."

Douglas Maicon and Davide Santon are certain to start and they are likely to be partnered by Christian Chivu and Ivan Cordoba.

Esteban Cambiasso, Javier Zanetti, Dejan Stankovic and Sulley Muntari are likely to play in the middle. Zlatan Ibrahimovic will start with Adriano up front.

The San Siro is sold out for tonight's clash and around 6,000 Manchester United fans are already in Milan.

Latest interview reveals that 'L’Imperatore’ is confident that the Nerazzurri’s physical strength in attack will be key to bringing down the Red Devils.

“I think that the side who progress [from this fixture] will win the Champions League,” Adriano told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Do not ask me why, I just feel it. I am very happy to know that I am going to play this match at a packed out San Siro.”

Mourinho revealed during yesterday’s press conference that he is going to stick with the attacking duo of Adriano and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who have wreaked havoc in the domestic league in recent weeks.

“We both have a great physical strength,” mused the 27-year-old. “We are good at protecting the ball, allowing the team to pour forward.

“And we love jostling for position. It’s nice trying to scare the opposition’s defenders, including Rio Ferdinand. I have faced him with Brazil, he is very strong, but I will do my best to cause him problems.”

Inter Milan captain Javier Zanetti believes Manchester United are "one of the strongest teams in Europe", but insists the Italians will be able to compete with them on Tuesday night.

The two sides clash at the San Siro in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie which promises to be a true clash of the titans between the defending Italian and English champions, and Zanetti claims United will meet their match.

"I think we are up against a big team which is doing very well in the Premier League and in the Champions League, but I am confident that we can do it," he said.

"We are a very competitive team and this is a clash between two big teams who want to continue in the Champions League.

"We are up against one of the strongest teams in Europe. We respect Manchester a lot, but we are in condition to be able to do very well."

Zanetti is the only member of the Inter side who was present when the two teams met a decade ago.

From ten point advantage over Manchester United on December 28, now they are slip to a seven point deficit; Benitez knows that no matter what, Liverpool must beat United on March 14 at Old Trafford in order to stay as a contender for EPL.

Even if they beat United that day, they still need to pray that United will slip another 2 games to overtake the defending champion and prevent them from winning three consecutive titles.

I still believe that Liverpool are still in title race as long they don't slip another precious point. Only five of their last 13 Premier League games was not a good result for them and I think the turning point of this season was the incident involving Gerrard at the pub.

I personally think that Liverpool are the only team that can stop the Red Devils now although Chelsea is looking good at the moment under the new management

I woke up this morning wondering whether United still 8 points above Liverpool or did they manage close up the gap back to 5 points. The good news is Liverpool failed to secure 3 points against Manchester City. I don't like to speculate because in football, anything can happen but looking at the current state, the title should on its way to Old Trafford this year.


Manchester United are now seven points clear at the top of the Premier League and it is looking increasingly like the title race is over.