JOSÉ MOURINHO may be reluctant to admit Liverpool to the top table of title challengers, but recent history added to the confidence surging from Peter Crouch after the England forward delivered intimations of mortality in Sunday’s Community Shield.
The “Special One” believes that Chelsea’s main rivals this season will be Manchester United and Arsenal, but the stark reality is that, had last season started on September 17, Liverpool would have been the champions. It was the club’s lugubrious start to the campaign that was their undoing and with even Frank Lampard admitting that Liverpool are more advanced than Chelsea in their preparations and less affected by World Cup aftershock, optimism is coursing through red veins.
After the 4-1 humbling by Chelsea at Anfield on October 2, Liverpool picked up 75 points, as opposed to Chelsea’s 67. However, before that match Chelsea had 21 points compared with Liverpool’s paltry seven. In simple terms, that means Liverpool were the best team in the Barclays Premiership for all but the first month of last season. Now their players believe that a better team will hit the ground running.
“We have got a great squad now,” Crouch said. “The manager [Rafael Benítez] has brought in some great players. He rested a few on Sunday and it didn’t look like we had. It’s great to get the better psychologically of Chelsea. People have said that the Community Shield does not mean a lot to the players, but I can assure you it does. Chelsea have been consistent and their squad has been top class, but we’re getting the same now.”
Mourinho is too shrewd to dismiss Liverpool other than for mischief-making purposes, and the new arrivals give Benítez’s squad a more attacking mien. On Sunday they started without Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso but still won the midfield battle, while Jermaine Pennant and Mark González provided pace and width.
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Crouch’s nascent partnership with Craig Bellamy also looks a more natural mix than the Chelsea combination of Andriy Shevchenko and Didier Drogba. “Craig and I can work well together,” Crouch said. “In training, he can put it on my head from wherever and it paid dividends against Chelsea. We are contrasting players, but the whole system worked well and it’s good to have so much pace in the side. You definitely need that these days.”