Benitez believes Liverpool still in Premier League title race

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez reckons his side can blow the Premier League title race wide open again when they visit Old Trafford next month.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been so impressed by Manchester United’s nine straight league wins that he admits that he cannot see anyone getting near them.

The bookies also clearly agree, with one already paying out on Alex Ferguson’s outfit winning a domestic treble, The Sun reported.

Even Fergie himself believes it is a two-horse race, with only Liverpool placed to make a scrap of it.

But Benitez, whose side host Manchester City tomorrow, insisted: “When I speak of facts, one is that United are a very good team and I knew they could have a run of winning games in a row.

“They will win more than a lot of the other teams, but to say we can’t beat them? I don’t think so. I can only talk of my team, but I don’t think they are untouchable. In football now, every game is tough, so anything can happen,” Benitez said.

“We have reduced the gap very well and want to reduce it more. It will be difficult but, if we’re in the same position going to Old Trafford, maybe that could be important.”

Few men are better placed to talk of shattering the status quo than Benitez, whose Valencia side broke Real Madrid and Barcelona’s stranglehold on the title in Spain.

Liverpool trail United by five points, but seven years ago Valencia was even further behind Real and still won the title.

Benitez added: “In Spain we were eight or nine points behind in January and finished seven ahead. It’s a big gap, but we can reduce that by winning a few in a row.”