Sir Alex Ferguson: Rafa Benitez talks more about me than the title!

Sir Alex Ferguson claimed last night he has got under Rafa Benitez's skin again.

Liverpool boss Benitez said Fergie was scared of Liverpool and Chelsea after the Manchester United boss admitted the winner of their Champions League tie would pose the biggest threat in the title race.

But Fergie hit back, claiming Benitez - whose side lost 3-1 to Chelsea on Wednesday - had taken his eye off the ball by talking about him.

"The interesting thing as far as Rafa is concerned is that he had a big European tie coming up and he was talking about Alex Ferguson," said Fergie.

"That's fantastic. I didn't know I was that important." And when asked whether he felt Benitez was rattled, the United boss smiled and said he had no further comment.

Fergie clearly feels Chelsea are now United's main rivals for the title after their emphatic win at Anfield. "Chelsea will be absolutely buoyed up," said Fergie.

"You saw that with their celebrations at the end at Anfield. "They knew it was an emphatic result and I think they'll be flying at the moment.

"It was a really good performance by them and it can really galvanise you when you get a very important result. "When we won the Treble in 1999, you can never forget Ryan Giggs' goal at Villa Park. That lifted everyone. From then on, we were unbeatable. But hopefully Chelsea are beatable."

Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink joined in the managerial showdown by warning United "I'm the Predator - and I'm coming to hunt you down!"

Chelsea believe their triumph at Anfield can be a springboard for Treble glory. And while the Dutchman accepts United are still in the box seat, Hiddink believes a "perfect" seven wins out of seven could bring the title back to Stamford Bridge.

Hiddink, six times a title winner with PSV Eindhoven, said: "All my titles in the past have come from the front. "There were some championships when we knew in March we had won the title, so I was always in front.

"Now this time I am the predator. It's new to me. I don't like it because I like to be on the other side and stay away from the predators."