Rafa Benitez has opened up on why he believes Sir Alex Ferguson was “so worried about Liverpool” during his tenure as manager, with the former Reds boss claiming the legendary Scotland boss had “a lot of things” go his way.
During the Ferguson and Benitez era, United and Liverpool clashed in some seismic Premier League clashes, with both teams challenging for superiority domestically and in Europe.
During the 2008–09 season, United and Liverpool faced each other for the English league title, with Ferguson’s side outscoring their Merseyside rivals by four points.
Tensions between managers and teams would come to the fore during that season, with Benitez lashing out at Ferguson in a now iconic, brazen speech about “facts”.
During the press conference he insisted United were “nervous” and “didn’t want to play mind games” but launched into an attack on Ferguson, complaining he was the “only” manager who could talk to referees about games and get away with it.
Rafa Benitez has opened up on why he believes Sir Alex Ferguson was “so worried about Liverpool” during his time as manager
Ferguson and Benitez enjoyed an epic rivalry during the 2008–09 season, with Liverpool and Manchester United battling to win the Premier League.
The former Liverpool manager, who has since worked at other top clubs including Chelsea, Everton and Newcastle, has now shed more light on his rivalry with Ferguson during their time at Anfield.
Reflecting on his explosive press conference, Benitez, speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, hosted by Sky BetHe insisted he was “not laughing out loud” after Gary Neville claimed “the pressure was getting to him”.
“It’s not possible and I’ll tell you why,” he said on the podcast, before reflecting on when his side beat Manchester United 4-1 at Old Trafford in 2009.
He told Neville: ‘We went to Old Trafford and there was a kid with his dad. He had a big banner saying ‘Rafael is cracking up’. And we beat Manchester United 4-1.
Pointing to the former Manchester United defender, who missed the game through injury, Benitez added: “They were laughing their heads off, because Sir Alex Ferguson was so worried about us, he was using everything he had at his disposal to create (that atmosphere).
‘When we were winning (in the League) you had two games less, because you were playing the Club World Cup. Then you recovered and won the games and, obviously, you were doing well.
“I was laughing out loud, I was joking, because in the last 11 games we drew one against Arsenal 4-4 at home and won ten. So we weren’t laughing out loud: there was extra time, and then we played seven more minutes and scored against Aston Villa with (Federico) Macheda.”
Following their victory at Old Trafford in March 2009, Liverpool would only drop points to Arsenal, scoring 15 goals in their last five games and conceding just two.
Benitez also hit out at the Manchester United boss in an explosive press conference while in charge of Liverpool, insisting United were “nervous”.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, he claimed Ferguson (left) was “worried” about Liverpool.
Benitez later hit out at Ferguson again on the podcast, claiming the legendary Manchester United manager “had a lot of things go right for him”.
“We played four games after the international break and the Champions League games,” he continued, speaking to the Stick to Football podcast presented by Sky Bet.
‘We played four games at home and eight away. Manchester United played eight games at home, including on Sunday, and four away. Why? Ferguson complained: “Oh, we play the second half of the league against the best teams at home.”
“Yes, everyone wants to play the second half of the league at home. Then he was complaining. And I told him: ‘Oh, you can’t decide the calendar, you can’t decide what you want.'”
In his explosive press conference, Benitez added that he had to defend his team.
He also responded to Gary Neville during the podcast, stating that Ferguson “had a lot of things go right”.
Liverpool would beat United 4-1 at Old Trafford during the 2008–09 season, with Fernando Torres scoring during the match.
However, Benitez was unable to get the better of Sir Alex and United went on to win the Premier League by four points.
“But we were playing four away games, at 12.45pm. And I have to defend my club, and the only way for us, because I could see that we were progressing, and the way the games were developing with things like extra time,” he said.
‘Many things, and another one, Rio Ferdinand’s handball and it being a corner, well, I saw it happening.
“Then I said the only chance we had was to lose at home to Chelsea. Then I was looking at the schedule, this is the game. So I wanted to make sure it was a level playing field and everyone was focused on that, and anything strange could happen. The problem is that you won 2-0, because they sacked (Luiz Felipe) Scolari later on and you were better or something.”
