Why Fergie will see Liverpool v Manchester United as chance to finish off rival Rafa once and for all: Martin Lipton's big lunchtime read

By Martin Lipton in Laptop with Martin Lipton

Published 11:30 23/10/09

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Sir Alex Ferguson once famously vowed his ambition was to "knock Liverpool off their f****** perch".

But you can bet your bottom dollar the Scot would love nothing better than to hasten Rafa Benitez towards the Anfield exit door on Sunday.

Ferguson's rivalry with Benitez can gone beyond the normal knockabout stuff, with the Spaniard replacing Arsene Wenger as the man the United chief loves to hate.

The Old Trafford chief viewed Benitez' public attack on his attitude to referees last season as a personal affront, overstepping the self-same mark Fergie has not exactly stayed inside during his tenure.

For a man who believes it is his right to lambast anybody, irrespective of the accuracy of his attacks - see Alan Wiley - it was hard to take Ferguson's outrage seriously.

Even so, he hit back, of course, rounding up his posse in an attempt at lynching by press conference   after Benitez made a simple touchline gesture during the win over Blackburn but the animosity has not gone away with the passage of time.

But real revenge for the United boss would be condemning Liverpool to a fifth defeat in just 10 Premier League outings this term, almost certainly making their title bid a dead duck and leaving Benitez right on the brink.

Fergie knows that the temperature gauge will be turned right up at Anfield on Sunday, ensuring a hot-house environment.

One guarantee is that Anfield will be firmly behind Benitez at the start - after all, tribal loyalty, especially in times of stress, is an obligation of fealty on The Kop.

The rivalry between the clubs always ensures a combustible atmosphere as the backdrop to one of the clashes of the season and there are no prizes for guessing which inflatable objects might be smuggled in to the Anfield Road stand before kick-off among the visiting supporters.

With Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard both likely to be missing, the underdog factor will also come into play, although that will not do Benitez much good if the result goes against his team.

And the jeers that met Benitez' decision to replace Yossi Benayoun with Andriy Voronin in the last minutes of Tuesday's Champions League defeat by Lyons means every tactical tweak the Liverpool boss makes will come under intense scrutiny.

Ferguson knows the heat is on Benitez, knows that he could send the Spaniard towards the abyss if his side can take all three points and there is no man who gets more pleasure out of putting a rival to the sword.

Not that he is wrong in having that attitude. Football is about taking advantage if situations, of making your bitterest foes pay if you get the chance and Fergie has been around for more than long enough to know how to react to the circumstances.

For Ferguson, Sunday represents the perfect opportunity, not only to turn Liverpool into title also-rans - although the United boss will know that Manchester City's emergence as a genuine force increases the uncertainties in the race for the crown - but also to squeeze Benitez, maybe to the point that the pips begin to squeak.

Benitez, no fool, will likewise be aware that victory could turn everything around in the space of 90 minutes, re-lighting the fire of belief in his players and the Liverpool fans, dealing a blow to United's burgeoning confidence and making the top of the table look even more congested.

Last season, remember, Liverpool did the double over United, beating them at Anfield despite Torres and Gerrard playing just 20 minutes between them.

A repeat of that triumph does not seem likely this time round, especially on recent form. Confirming that form will be Ferguson's priority, defying it the determination of the Spaniard.

But where Ferguson would be disappointed not to win, Benitez' mindset might reflect something more akin to despair.

It is under pressure that the true mettle of a manager is tested. Benitez is under pressure like never before. Emerge from this one and his power and authority will be intensified. Ferguson's ambition is to apply what could, potentially, be the fatal blow.

Rarely has so much rested on one match between these two. Not just the shape of the season but the entire future of Liverpool.

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