United still European favourites

Rafael Benitez maintains that holders Manchester United are now favourites to retain the Champions League crown.
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The Liverpool boss was reacting to Friday's quarter-final draw which has paired the Anfield club with Chelsea for the fifth season on the trot in this competition.

If Liverpool get past that battle, they must play Barcelona or Bayern Munich in the semi-finals for the right to take part in the Rome final on May 27.

Manchester United will play Porto in the quarter-finals and if they are successful they would play the winners of the Arsenal v Villarreal tie in the last four.

Benitez said: "Manchester United must now be favourites - they have an easier draw than us."

"Our half of the draw is the more difficult now after this draw."

But Benitez was pleased the prospect of Liverpool having to play on the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster was now gone.

"Obviously we did not want to do that and with the second leg of our quarter-final now scheduled for London on the 14th (April), our wishes have been agreed with," he said.

"Hopefully it won't make a difference to us that the second leg is away.

"We have to think about the first game at Anfield with our fans behind us and look to get a positive result to take to Stamford Bridge.

"We need to make sure we don't make a mistake in the first leg like we did in last year's semi-final.

"They will be two tough games but we are playing well and clearly we are confident we can win."

Last season's semi-final first leg between the two sides featured an injury-time own goal from John Arne Riise which ultimately proved decisive.

Benitez had hoped to avoid an English side, but he added: "At this stage of the competition, you know you'll play against a good team. Chelsea are a very good team.

"We know each other very well and this is an exciting draw. We knew it would be difficult to avoid an English team but we need to approach the two games with confidence.

"We have done the double over them this season in the league but clearly these two games in the quarter-finals will be different."

Maurinho Want To Print History

First leg: 0 - 0

Man. United 20:45 Internazionale




José Mourinho brings his FC Internazionale Milano team to Old Trafford hoping to engineer a moment to match the career-defining conquest of Manchester United FC that he achieved on his first visit as coach of FC Porto five years ago this week.

Touchline run
"At that time they didn't know who was this crazy manager running down the touchline," said Mourinho, recalling his memorable goal celebration during the 1-1 draw that carried eventual winners Porto past United at this stage of the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League. If anyone is going to sound undaunted by facing a United side unbeaten in 18 European home games it is the Portuguese, not least given he lost just one of ten subsequent encounters with United during his three years at Chelsea FC.

Finely balanced
This tie is balanced after a goalless first leg but Mourinho talked up Inter's prospects of upsetting opponents targeting a tenth quarter-final in 13 seasons: "Zero-zero away from home is not a very good result. It is a result that leaves lots of question marks." Mourinho's prediction of a close contest decided by "little differences" echoed his United counterpart, Sir Alex Ferguson, who admitted: "With a 0-0 draw you are never overconfident because an away goal can be a severe setback to you."

Concentration required
Yet United will draw confidence from having beaten FC Barcelona from this position in last term's semi-finals. "That was the situation when we played Barcelona and what was required was magnificent concentration and focus," said Sir Alex, who played down the significance of his record against Mourinho. "I look at my football club and what it has achieved over the time I have been here. That is more important to me than my record against him."

Defenders return
Sir Alex believes United have undergone a "massive improvement" since their last defeat in the competition, 21 games ago in the 2007 semi-final with AC Milan. "We have far more maturity and understanding of the Champions League," said the Scot, who will bring back Dimitar Berbatov and Cristiano Ronaldo after they sat out Saturday's 4-0 FA Cup win at Fulham FC. While he can also call on defenders Rio Ferdinand and John O'Shea – both fit despite limping off against Fulham – Mourinho must reorganise his back line after Nicolás Burdisso and Marco Materazzi suffered injuries in Saturday's 2-0 victory at Genoa CFC.

Buck the trend
With Cristian Chivu also sidelined, Inter's coach will recall Walter Samuel after a three-match injury absence, and could also hand Patrick Vieira a first start in the competition since Matchday 1. He admitted stopping the hosts' "incredible strikers" will not be easy. "[Sir Alex] has lots of ammunition and is clever in the way he uses it. They are never predictable. You have to read the game and adapt to what they bring." Inter fell at this stage in 2007 and 2008 but the 'Special One' thinks he can buck the trend. "The press have been talking for three weeks about the drama of Inter going out always in the last 16. I prefer to think in a different way, of the possibility of Inter knocking out the world champions. Not even my flu can affect my pleasure."

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Arsenal Barren Because of Psychological Factors

Arsenal increasingly feel the day the loss of sharpness. Series results in the opposite party Fulham shed the state that "The Gunners" have a problem at all.

Results in the series without a touchdown Emirates Stadium, Saturday (28 / 2) nights, is the worst result since the last 16 years. "The Gunners" have now recorded four times the series without a goal and as the repetition in 1993.

"I feel weak in our attacks, and survive today, but we must continue to fight," commented coach Arsen Wenger is quoted in an interview that the club site. "They move more, but then we slowly overcome."

Wenger even explicitly acknowledge that the front line of dull. One of the psychological problems it is the players. Unfortunately, he still does not find its own answers to complete the problem.

"We always lose the sharpness to take advantage of the opportunity and I feel bait-bait us less quickly," he added. "There are several reasons, one of them, especially psychological problems. I think that psychological problems occur when, very difficult to interpret the tactics and techniques. The more I talk the problem, the big problem that I make."

Wenger increasingly complex problem because the problem apparently is not because of injury experienced by some key players. He asserts, even if the PLAYERS healthy, the problem still appear.



"I think the striker is not the root of injury problems because we have the same problem when our offense well. We can not print a lot of goals lately. Difficult interpret," French go home the coach.

With all of this, Wenger is now increasingly pessimistic contemplate reaching the target zone Champions League next season.