United out for revenge

Thanks to Liverpool's erratic (and that's being kind) form this season, today's clash between Rafa Benitez's team and Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United is not a title decider in itself.

Yet it would be wrong to understate the importance of the game to both teams.

For United it is an opportunity to either consolidate their position at the top of the table or, possibly, regain it if Arsenal did the business against West Ham yesterday.

Chelsea don't play Blackburn until later in the day, and a win for United would (at least temporarily) give them a five-point advantage over Ancelotti's team - a team that could well be dispirited and down after their midweek Champions League exit.

For Liverpool, on the other hand, it is an opportunity to show that Benitez's promise of a fourth place finish this season (a spectacularly daft vow to make, it has to be said) is at least still a possibility.

Their rivals for that all-important Champions League spot are pushing them hard, but victory over United would not only be valuable points in the bag, it would send out a message to Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur. And no doubt give these three some nervous thoughts.

Liverpool have already proved this season that, on those rare occasions when they decide to play to their potential, they can be a match for their rivals. In fact, in the reverse fixture back in October, Liverpool were more than a match for United in their 2-0 victory.

Despite that, and despite Liverpool having had a pretty good week so far, I still believe United will have the edge in today's clash for a variety of reasons. Firstly, they have Wayne Rooney playing like a god, secondly they have home advantage, and thirdly they are out for revenge after last season's 4-1 home humiliation in the same fixture.

Whichever way today's encounter goes, I am reasonably sure it will be cracking game of football. It's not, as I said earlier, the title decider that Liverpool's supporters would have wished for.

But both clubs have lots to gain and plenty to lose if they come out of the match on the wrong end of the result.

The special won

He may not be Chelsea's manager any more, but Jose Mourinho continued to do what he does best - ensuring the Stamford Bridge team don't lift the Champions League trophy.

During his time in London it was the one major success that eluded him. No matter how hard he tried it was a nut he just couldn't crack.

Last week, as Inter manager, he returned to Chelsea and knocked them out of the tournament himself. He is a one-man walking jinx when it comes to Chelsea winning that particular trophy.

To his credit though, he didn't rub the victory in anybody's face. He didn't even stay till the final whistle to celebrate - something I am sure he would have done at any other club.

Although some fans turned on him towards the end of the match as it became evident Inter were going through, I believe the majority of the Stamford Bridge crowd still have great respect for the 'special one'.

After all, it's not like he walked away from the club - he was sacked. And for most managers that would have been enough to celebrate like a madman when your new team gets one over on your old team.

That he didn't is the measure of the man.

For all his obnoxious behaviour, irritating mannerisms and outrageous comments, he knows how to treat supporters.

Juve been framed

The Europa League may not be the continent's most glamorous contest, but it certainly knows how to throw up the occasional stunning match.

Little Fulham's comeback against the mighty Juventus on Thursday night was nothing short of remarkable. At 3-1 down from the first leg, few people gave them a chance, but they managed to pull off a 4-1 win at Craven Cottage that was as emphatic as the scoreline suggests.

Roy Hodgson continues to show he must be one of the greatest English managers around. He has to be a serious candidate for the national team job when Capello sails off into the sunset to count his millions.

For Juventus, though, the match proved that reputations count for nothing. It was almost as if they turned up in London expecting their history and tradition to win the game for them and see them through to the next round. No need for effort when you are a European giant.

In the interests of common decency, they should follow in Wigan's footsteps and refund all those fans who made the journey to support them, while offering their sincere apologies.

They should, but of course they won't.

David will be beck

There has been an overwhelming outpouring of sympathy last week for David Beckham whose dream of playing in his fourth World Cup was shattered by injury.

And it is hard not to feel for the lad because there is no doubting his commitment to the cause and his determination to do everything he could to get to South Africa.

But let's keep things in perspective. As much as I would liked to see him turn out for England this summer, the truth is he was only going to be, at best, a substitute.

And while, yes, his injury was unfortunate, it isn't the end of the world for the player. He has already been to three World Cups and won 115 caps for his country. He will recover from his injury and play again, maybe even for England. He has a happy and healthy family, a pretty wife, a great job, and all the fame and fortune any man could wish for.

A snapped Achilles tendon may have ended one particular dream for Beckham but he has been living out many others for the past two decades. This injury may have been a stroke of bad luck, but in all other respects old goldenballs has been on a 20-year roll of good fortune. I didn't want this happen. The fans didn't want this to happen. He didn't want this to happen. But the truth is these things do happen. That's football.

What he needs now is support and encouragement as he tries to bounce back from the disappointment. Not people shedding tears over what might have been.

After all, there is always the next World Cup. And with Beckham's approach to life, I wouldn't be surprised if he was still pushing for inclusion come 2014.

Your say

"After watching the Chelsea vs Inter Champions League match, I feel a bit perplexed because I don't remember the rules of the game being changed.

"If I'm correct, no player can hold, hug or put their arms around opponents, thus impeding the player from moving freely. Yet Inter's Thiago Motta, at least twice, wrestled Branislav Ivanovic and then Didier Drogba to the ground in the penalty area, yet the referee ignored these fouls completely.

"But what really amazed me was that while the referee failed to see Motta wrestling Drogba, in the same instant he saw Drogba stepping on Motta's foot and showed him the red card.

"While Inter were the better team in both matches, Chelsea have been repeatedly undone by bad referring in Europe these past three years.

"I would also like to comment on the sad news that Chester City FC, after a 126-year history, were wound up because they did not pay a tax bill of just £26,125. I find the UK Inland Revenue Department's action most scandalous and unscrupulous towards the city of Chester.

"A football club is not just a sport club, it is more than that. It represents the spirit and heart of the people of the city - a sporting tradition that goes back over a hundred years.

"I am sure the UK Ministry for Sport, the Football Association and the English League could have done much more to save this old club." Lino Vella Clark, Msida.

Meanwhile it seems I may have opened a can of worms of immense proportions with my recent comments about Rooney and Manchester United. The e-mails just won't stop.

"I have been following the debate about Manchester United and Wayne Rooney for the past few weeks and feel it is worth having my say as a United fan. While I absolutely don't agree that United are a one-man team, I can understand what you mean about his importance to the side.

"United have strength in depth in areas other than attack. Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs and Darren Fletcher run a tight ship in midfield, while the defence looks like it is rediscovering its true form.

"However, up front, I believe we are weak and limited. Dimitar Berbatov is hit and miss, Michael Owen never found his form before injury, Danny Welbeck was out on loan and is now injured. If Rooney, God forbid, were also to get injured then I think we would struggle.

"Without Rooney I have my doubts whether we could win either the Premier League title or the Champions League this season. While that doesn't, as you claim, make us a one-man team it does show we lack options in a crucial area." Robert Mizzi, e-mail.

"Thank you for promoting Manchester United from a mediocre to an average team. What's next?" Mark Galea, e-mail.

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com