With Manchester United dropping points after seemingly locking up the Premiership title just weeks ago, Spaniard Rafa Benitez has made the move to reignite the war of words started a few months ago between himself and Sir Alex Ferguson. After the struggles United has had lately, you gotta give the Liverpool boss credit for turning the screws through the press, though he did hit some rough patches during his learning process.

Via TimesOnline

The Spaniard, who is preparing for the Champions League showdown with Chelsea tomorrow, could not resist another swipe at the Manchester United manager as the Barclays Premier League race reaches boiling point.

“It is not mind games, I think it maybe is that he is a little bit scared [of us],” Benitez said.

“I do not have a problem with United. Clearly one of us, either Chelsea or us, will end up focusing just on the Premier League after this,” he said. “I think Sir Alex will be supporting Liverpool in this tie because he knows we are the bigger threat now.

“If we continue in the Champions League maybe he will think we are tired. If we are not in this competition then he knows that we will be a [bigger] threat in the Premier League.

“If Chelsea are not in the competition, then he knows they will then be a threat also in the league. But he will lose anyway, whoever goes out, because they will still be a big threat to United.

“You have to prepare well for every single Premier League game, it is tough (to be in the Champions League as well). So he will clearly be supporting us tomorrow and next week.

“I would like to be worried about both competitions, it means we will continue to be successful. We just concentrate on our team, while he likes to talk too much about other teams.”

Benitez claims he was unmoved by United’s late heroics against Villa, saying: “We knew there would be situations like this, with us one point ahead, or one point behind. And everyone knows five minutes [of injury time] at Old Trafford is a very long time.

“I watched the game, but once United scored their second you felt they would win the game.

“He [Ferguson] is in the driving seat now and in a better position, but there is still a long way to go and we have confidence. We are pushing them and we will push them until the end.”

Image via TheSun