The Sports Granola

Carlos Tevez struck as Manchester United defeated Roma to seal a Champions League semi-final match-up with Barcelona.

Roma should have taken the lead from the penalty spot after a foul by Wes Brown but Daniele de Rossi smashed the ball high over the crossbar.

Edwin van der Sar denied Mirko Vucinic as Roma threatened but Ryan Giggs and Owen Hargreaves forced saves from Doni.

And Tevez scored with a diving header from Hargreaves’ cross to seal the tie.

The Argentine struck after 70 minutes and it was a goal that punctured any lingering hopes Roma harboured of a dramatic comeback.

The Italians had been left stunned after their 2-0 defeat in Rome but, after enduring a poor start to the second leg, they showed great spirit to rattle their opponents.

And they might have ensured an extremely nervous evening for United had De Rossi not been so wasteful with his penalty kick after 29 minutes.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had shown great faith in his squad prior to kick-off by leaving Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo out of his starting line-up.

They were two of five changes from the team that drew at Middlesbrough on Sunday.

Changes or not, United had more than enough opportunities to kill off the tie in the first 10 minutes.

Park Ji-Sung shot wide after superbly holding his run to stay on-side, Brown completely lost his marker from a corner but then headed over while Doni denied Hargreaves after Giggs brilliantly played the midfielder through on goal.

Having resisted United’s early advances, the Italians underlined the threat they possessed when Vucinic drew a save from Van der Sar with a strike from a tight angle.

But Hargreaves was a revelation down the right for United, using his superb athleticism to run on to passes from midfield, and he delivered two telling crosses.

The first was met by Giggs while Anderson drilled a low strike from the second - both efforts drawing saves from Doni.

But Roma should have forced their way back into the tie when referee Tom Hennin Ovrebo ruled that Brown had failed to make any contact with the ball while trying to tackle Mancini.

De Rossi buried his head in his shirt after blazing the spot kick way over the crossbar but Roma took confidence from winning the penalty and enjoyed a spell of possession that saw them end the half on top.

And Roma maintained their sense of momentum after the break - Marco Cassetti just failing to pounce on a rebound, Mikael Silvestre blocking from Rodrigo Taddei and Van der Sar saving a Juan header.

It was in stark contrast to the early minutes when United dominated, however a relatively mundane period of play, in which the home team enjoyed a reasonable spell of possession, settled Sir Alex Ferguson’s team.

And after Tevez headed home another excellent Hargreaves cross the tie was effectively settled.

Further good news for the buoyant home fans arrived with 10 minutes left when Gary Neville came on for his first appearance since picking up an ankle injury on 17 March 2007.

Liverpool’s John Arne Riise accidentally headed the ball into his own net in the fifth minute of injury time, giving Chelsea a 1-1 tie Tuesday night in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals.

Dirk Kuyt put Liverpool ahead in the 43rd minute when he beat goalkeeper Petr Cech from close range after Javier Mascherano’s mis-hit spun over Chelsea’s Claude Makelele.

But Riise tied it when his diving header to clear Salomon Kalou’s cross for Nicolas Anelka went in from about 5 yards. Goalkeeper Pepe Reina had no chance to stop the ball.

“These ties are decided on small details, and unfortunately the little bit of luck’s gone to Chelsea at the end,” Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said. “But maybe we’ll get a bit of luck at Stanford Bridge. No fingers pointed at John; we’re all in this together.”

Liverpool and Chelsea are meeting in the semifinals for the third time in four seasons. Liverpool advanced in 2005 and 2007 but played the second leg of the total-goals series at home. The teams meet April 30 at London, with the winner advancing to the May 21 final against Manchester United or Barcelona, who play their first leg Wednesday in Spain.

“I think we deserved definitely to get the draw at the end,” Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard said. “They had chances, we had chances. It was a battle and we carried on to the end.”

Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks met with manager Rafa Benitez before the game and attended his first match at Anfield since December. Fans flicked abusive hand signals at the Texan as he appeared to join in the club anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” before the game while his son, Tom Hicks Jr., waved a Liverpool scarf. Chelsea fans bellowed taunts of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” during the early stages of the match.

Hicks is being blamed for threatening to block George Gillett Jr. from selling of his 50 percent stake in the Premier League club to Dubai International Capital. Gillett had been planning to also attend but he didn’t travel to northern England on doctors’ advice.

Police warned the club about the fans potentially targeting Hicks and Gillett.

“Security advice was provided to the club based on standard ongoing risk assessments,” the Merseyside Police said. “As with any other event, the safety of all those attending has been considered.”

Steven Gerrard converted a tiebreaking penalty kick to give Liverpool a spot in the European Champions League semifinals, just one minute after Emmanuel Adebayor appeared to put Arsenal in the final four.

Gerrard scored in the 85th minute and Ryan Babel added an injury-time goal to give Liverpool a dramatic 4-2 quarterfinal victory over Arsenal on Tuesday night.

“That was possibly one of the worst performances I’ve ever put in in a Liverpool shirt,” Gerrard said. “But I still had the confidence to score the penalty.”

Liverpool won the home-and-home series on 5-3 aggregate and advanced to a semifinal matchup with Chelsea, which defeated visiting Fenerbahce 2-0 for a 3-2 aggregate victory.

“The defeat was down to a dodgy decision of the referee I think,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “I believe over the two games it’s difficult to swallow because of the double disappointment and all the big decisions were against us.”

On Wednesday night, Manchester United plays visiting AS Roma after winning the first leg 2-0 and Barcelona enters with a 1-0 advantage from its victory last week at Schalke.

Liverpool is on course for its third final in four years. Both times it advanced, in 2005 and 2007, Liverpool beat Chelsea in the semifinals.

“We’ve been there, we know everything about them and they know everything about us,” Chelsea’s Frank Lampard said. “It’s amazing how often we’ve been in this situation.”

In the third match between Arsenal and Liverpool in a seven-day span, Abou Diaby put the Gunners ahead in the 13th minute. Sami Hyypia equalized in the 30th and Fernando Torres gave Liverpool a 2-1 lead in the 69th.

Then, Theo Walcott made a 45-yard run to set up one of the finest goals of the European season. Walcott evaded Gerrard’s attempt to poke the ball away at the halfway line, then went around as Fabio Aurelio crashed into him. Walcott maintained possession as Javier Mascherano sprinted to catch up, went wide to his right as Mascherano fell down, evaded Sammy Hyypia and slotted the ball past a falling Martin Skrtel to Adebayor.

Adebayor tapped the ball in to tie the match 2-2 and give Arsenal a 2-1 lead in away goals.

Liverpool quickly moved the ball to the other end, and Kolo Toure brought down Babel in the penalty area, with Swedish referee Peter Frojdfeldt pointing to the penalty spot. Gerrard’s drive went to the right of goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, who had no chance.

Liverpool co-owner George Gillett Jr. looked on from the stands at Anfield but partner Tom Hicks watched on television from Arlington, where his Texas Rangers lost to Baltimore 8-1 in their home opener. Hicks and Gillett have been feuding for months.

In London, Chelsea won as Michael Ballack headed in a free kick from Lampard in the fourth minute and Lampard scored in the 87th.

“Over the course of the two games we deserve to be through,” Lampard said. “We didn’t play as well tonight as we can, but this competition is about getting results.”

Arsenal were left frustrated as Liverpool held on for what could to be a crucial 1-1 draw from the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash at Emirates Stadium.The Gunners, who have seen their Premier League title hopes fade following a run of just one win in six, had taken an early lead through Emmanuel Adebayor.

However, the Reds, last season’s beaten finalists, hit back quickly through Dirk Kuyt’s close-range effort after a fine run from captain Steven Gerrard.

Arsenal dominated the second half and should have had a penalty when Alexander Hleb was clearly tugged back by Kuyt.

However, Arsene Wenger’s men could not find a way past Liverpool who will now fancy their chances of securing another European Cup semi-final appearance when the two sides meet again at Anfield next Tuesday night.

Despite the electric atmosphere, it was a cagey opening for what was the 200th meeting of the sides, who will face off once more in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime.

After seven minutes, Adebayor raced onto a long through-ball as Jose Reina dashed out of his goal.

The Liverpool goalkeeper missed his attempted clearance, but was alert enough to recover ground and then block the follow-up cross from the Togo frontman.

At the other end, Cesc Fabregas had to do some defending in his own six-yard box to deny Sami Hyypia after he had stayed up front following a corner.

On 21 minutes, the Liverpool defence was split by a fine chipped pass from Mathieu Flamini.

Robin van Persie got ahead of the two centre-backs and into the penalty area, but as the ball dropped, the Dutchman could only fire a left-footed volley over the crossbar.

Reina then had to get down quickly to deny the Arsenal striker, who sent in a low shot from the edge of the box.

From the resulting corner, after 22 minutes, the Gunners took the lead.

Van Persie knocked the ball short to Fabregas before he whipped it into the area, where Adebayor leapt highest to nod his first goal since scoring in the defeat of AC Milan at the San Siro.

However, Arsenal’s lead was short-lived as the visitors grabbed what could yet prove to be a crucial away goal in the 26th minute.

Gerrard powered into the left side of the penalty box, charging past three defenders.

The Liverpool skipper kept his feet to send over a low cross, which Kuyt bundled in ahead of full-back Gael Clichy.

The visitors were clearly lifted by their goal and enjoyed a decent spell of possession as the half-hour mark passed.

However, despite plenty of action around both penalty areas, neither side was able to find a penetrating pass.

Liverpool had a chance just after the restart, and Manuel Almunia needed to get down quickly to smother Kuyt’s snapshot.

Arsenal introduced England squad man Theo Walcott, to replace van Persie, for the second half and the teenager looked lively down the left as Hleb was given more freedom in an advanced role.

Walcott picked up the ball and let fly from 25 yards, but his shot was always going wide of Reina’s right-hand post.

Again both teams were not scared of going forwards, however once more they lacked a decisive pass in the final third.

On 65 minutes, there was a double let-off for Liverpool when Martin Skrtel blocked Emmanuel Eboue’s effort before Arsenal had what looked a certain penalty turned down by the Dutch referee.

Hleb weaved into the box, before he clearly had his shirt tugged back by Kuyt. However, referee Pieter Vink was unconvinced and signalled instead only for a corner.

Wenger sent on Nicklas Bendtner for the final 24 minutes, replacing Eboue as Walcott moved out to the right and Hleb to the left.

The Danish striker was soon in the thick of the action, somehow managing to keep out Fabregas’ goalbound effort while on the line - although he was flagged offside.

Arsenal continued to press in the closing stages, and in stoppage time Fabregas dived in to meet Adebayor’s cross, but his header lacked power and Reina comfortably collected.

Liverpool - with 10 men behind the ball for long spells - held firm and take the upper hand into next week’s second leg at Anfield.

It’s Act One of a Three-Act Play with Arsenal hosting Liverpool at the Emirates in the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final that sandwiches a Premier League clash between the teams on Saturday lunchtime.  Before the quarter-final draw was made it seemed mathematically inevitable that at least two of England’s four representatives would be paired together in the last eight, and so it proved, with the teams who between them have contested the last three Champions League finals coming out of the pots together to set up the first quarter-final.

Arsenal, having lost this year to Manchester United in the FA Cup (on 16th February) and Chelsea in the Premier League 10 days ago, may feel happier facing Liverpool than either of their other domestic rivals, except that the Reds have by far the best pedigree of any English club in Europe’s top competition, and in Rafael Benitez have a manager whose tactical acumen seems particularly well suited to two-legged European cat-and-mouse affairs.

The fact that Liverpool have struggled against Chelsea in the Premier League under Benitez, but twice defeated the Blues in the semi-finals of the Champions League in the last three years, underlines the point.  So Arsenal’s relatively good record against Benitez’s Liverpool in domestic competition (played three, won three at home; played six, won two, drawn one, lost three at Anfield) may not be all that significant.

And although the Gunners thrashed Liverpool twice in four days at Anfield last season (3-1 in the FA Cup, 6-3 in the Carling Cup), that again is unlikely to have much bearing on Wednesday’s fixture - or indeed the trilogy of matches over the coming week. For one thing, it is unlikely that any of Arsenal’s scorers of those nine goals in January 2007 will be involved in these matches: Tomas Rosicky (2) is injured, Alexandre Song (1) has featured only rarely in the first team this season, and Julio Baptista (4), Jeremie Aliadiere (1) and Thierry Henry (1) have all left the club.

Morale-Boosting Wins
 
More relevant could be this season’s meeting between the sides at Anfield - and each team’s recent form. On 28th October, the Gunners travelled to Merseyside having just thrashed Slavia Prague 7-0 in the Champions League.  Liverpool had gone down 2-1 to Besiktas in Istanbul, but they took the lead against the Gunners after seven minutes through a superbly struck free-kick from Steven Gerrard. However, Arsenal took that set-back in their stride and continued to play their fluent passing game, threatening the Liverpool goal several times before finally being rewarded when Cesc Fabregas latched onto an Alex Hleb through-ball to equalise ten minutes from time. It was seen as a point gained by Liverpool and two dropped by Arsenal at the time. Both teams were unbeaten in the Premier League but Liverpool were struggling a little at Anfield while Arsenal went into the game on the back of 12 straight wins.

Fast-forward to mid-February, with the resumption of Champions League fare on the horizon. FA Cup fifth round weekend was a disaster for both sides, Arsenal being summarily dismissed by Manchester United, who administered a 4-0 thrashing that could have been even more emphatic, and Liverpool succumbing 2-1 at home to Championship side Barnsley despite having taken the lead. Since then, Arsenal have played eight in all competitions, winning just two, drawing five and losing one, scoring just 10 and conceding eight.  Liverpool, in contrast, have played nine, won eight and lost one, racking up 19 goals while shipping seven.

Little doubt, then, about who is in the better shape going into these three clashes. But both sides bounced back from defeats on ‘Grand Slam Sunday’ by securing morale-boosting wins at the weekend.

Liverpool defeated neighbours Everton 1-0 in the Merseyside derby on Sunday, after Arsenal had staged a remarkable comeback at Bolton 24 hours earlier. The Gunners were two goals and one man down at half-time at The Reebok, but dug deeper than they had all season to conjure three second-half goals and keep alive their flickering hopes of reclaiming the Premier League title they last won in 2003-04.

A Question Of Targets

The fact that Arsenal thus remain involved in the Premiership title race is seen as another key factor in assessing the likely outcome of this Champions League quarter-final.  To the frustration of their fans, Liverpool’s prospects of breaking their 18-year domestic league drought were effectively snuffed out some time ago, on the back of too many dropped points at Anfield. Elimination from the domestic cups also meant that winning the Champions League for a sixth time became their priority. The victory over Everton at the weekend tightened their grip on fourth place in the Premiership - the Reds’ insurance policy for next season’s European adventure - so they go into Wednesday’s clash and next Tuesday’s second leg focused solely on reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League for the third time in four years.

Arsenal still have twin targets, and must beat Liverpool on Saturday as well as in this quarter-final if they are to retain any chance of thwarting Manchester United and Chelsea in the title race. That could influence both managers’ team selections over these three matches, and would appear to favour Benitez on the face of it - something he has already acknowledged himself. The Liverpool boss also believes that taking the Gunners back to Merseyside for the second leg will be to the Reds’ advantage. He confirmed: “Playing the second game at home could be very positive for us, because whenever we play at Anfield, it is an inspiration to us.”

European Records & The Current Campaign

When it comes to Europe, Liverpool are the undisputed masters among English clubs. The Reds have won the Champions Cup/Champions League five times (1977, 1978, 1981, 1984 and 2005), and also won the Uefa Cup in 1973, 1976 and 2001. They have been Champions Cup/Champions League runners-up twice, in 1985 and again last year when they were beaten 2-1 by AC Milan.

Arsenal’s European record is modest by comparison. Their best performance in the Champions League was when finishing as runners-up to Barcelona in 2006. They won the Fairs Cup in 1970 and the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1994, and were runners-up in the Uefa Cup in 2000, and the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1980 and 1995.

However, the Gunners are currently unbeaten in 20 European home matches, 18 of them in the Champions League, which is the fourth longest unbeaten streak in Champions League history. It is just two short of the English record held by Manchester United, but 11 short of the all-time record set by Bayern Munich.

As for Liverpool, they have won their last five Champions League matches, two of which were away from Anfield. Their winning streak is the joint seventh longest in the competition’s history; ironically Arsenal hold the English record with six successive victories, though Barcelona hold the competition record with nine.

Last season, Liverpool finished third in the Premier League and Arsenal fourth, so both had to get through the third qualifying round in August in order to take their places in the Group Stage.

Both progressed smoothly over that preliminary hurdle, Liverpool disposing of Toulouse 5-0 on aggregate and Arsenal beating Sparta Prague by the same aggregate score.

Once in the Group Stage, though, the two clubs took contrasting paths. The Gunners cruised through their first three matches without conceding a goal, defeating much-fancied Sevilla 3-0, Steaua Bucharest 1-0 away and Slavia Prague 7-0 at home. That equalled the record victory in the competition, though Liverpool would soon eclipse it. However, the Reds had got off to a less than auspicious start in their Group matches. A 1-1 draw at Porto was followed by a 1-0 home defeat by Marseille and a 2-1 reverse in Istanbul at the hands of Besiktas, leaving their survival hopes precariously poised.

So the reverse fixtures began with Arsenal looking comfortable and Liverpool anything but. The Reds though got down to business, hammering Besiktas 8-0, Porto 4-1 and Marseille 4-0 in an impressive display of strength and purpose.

As for the Gunners, they were held to a goalless draw in Prague, then lost 3-1 to Sevilla on November 27th - their first defeat of the season in any competition. But they rallied to beat Steaua 2-1, though like Liverpool, their earlier stumbles left them as runners-up in their respective Groups (Arsenal behind Sevilla, Liverpool behind Porto).

San Siro Successes

That meant both would face Group winners in the first knockout round, and the draw looked tough when Arsenal came out of the pot with holders AC Milan (Liverpool’s conquerors in last season’s final) and the Reds were paired with the Rossoneri’s city rivals Internazionale, reigning Italian champions and current Serie A leaders.

However, the Premiership clubs did themselves and their League proud, Arsenal defeating Milan 2-0 on aggregate and Liverpool humbling Inter 3-0 over two legs. Both won their away legs at the San Siro in impressive style. And so to this quarter-final meeting against each other. Both squads (and their fans) would probably have preferred continental opposition, if only because that is what European football is all about. But they may need to get used to Premier League opponents if they are to win the tournament.

That is because whoever prevails in this quarter-final may well meet Chelsea in the semis, assuming the Blues can get past Fenerbahce.  And whoever wins that semi could find themselves facing Manchester United in the Moscow final - although Roma and Barcelona/Schalke will have something to say about that.

Head-To-Head
 
This is the 200th meeting between Arsenal and Liverpool in a major competition.  So far, Arsenal have won 70, Liverpool have won 80, and 49 have been drawn.  They played each other four times last season, the League fixtures producing emphatic home wins (3-0 at he Emirates, 4-1 at Anfield), while Arsenal knocked  Liverpool out of the FA Cup (1-3) and Carling Cup (3-6), both at Anfield.

Arsene Wenger leads Rafa Benitez in the head-to-heads with five wins to Rafa’s  three; the only draw was the 1-1 earlier this season at Anfield.

The two clubs have never met before in European competition.  Arsenal have played one other English club at home in a European match, and that was four years ago, when they lost 2-1 at home to Chelsea at this same stage of the Champions League, going out on aggregate after having drawn at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool have played another English club on six previous occasions away from home in European competition - and are yet to win.

Discipline

Gael Clichy, Denilson, Emmanuel Adebayor, Alexander Hleb and Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal) and Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Fabio Aurelio (Liverpool) will miss the second leg of this tie if they are shown a yellow card at the Emirates.

Expert View

Former Liverpool legend Alan Hansen, now a BBC pundit, expects his old club to go through after two very tight games, citing momentum and confidence as huge factors in football, and saying Liverpool have more of it in this competition than Arsenal.

Hansen said on the BBC Sport website: “Arsenal have been struggling and have been in freefall, despite a great result against AC Milan in the San Siro in the last 16, but they came back from real adversity at the weekend and it would be foolish to discount them.”

He described their comeback at Bolton as “a performance that showed real reserves of character, given their recent form.”

But he said Liverpool are a team “built for the Champions League,” saying they “proved it again against Inter Milan in the last round. They were very solid, good on the counter-attack and will fancy their chances against Arsenal.

“Arsenal have huge ability and they will hope their big players demonstrate it against Liverpool, but Emmanuel Adebayor has gone off the boil recently and even Cesc Fabregas has not been playing as well as he was.

“They have struggled defensively and opponents will note how they cracked under pressure against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge after holding the lead going into the last 20 minutes.

“Arsenal will take great heart from what happened at The Reebok on Saturday - but Liverpool will be a different proposition to Bolton. Liverpool are my favourites to go through because the Champions League really seems to suit them. It is a more cautious, tactical approach and they have a cautious manager in Rafael Benitez.

“This is not in any way a negative comment about Benitez. He simply has a way of playing that suits the Champions League, as Liverpool’s recent record in the competition proves, and that is good management.

“Liverpool will get men behind the ball at Arsenal and they will be delighted the second leg is at Anfield, where the crowd will be such a factor.  I expect this to be a very tight affair, more of a slog than pretty football. The away goal is more important now than when I played, in fact, it is hugely important, but make no mistake, if you offered Benitez 0-0 now he would bite your hand off.”

Meanwhile, in the build-up to the match, players on both sides have been asked to comment and predictably their responses to the journalists have been blown up into banner headlines that suggest arrogant over-confidence when in fact a circumspect, honest opinion was offered.

Thus “Toure Says Liverpool Are Scared Of Arsenal” and “Gerrard Says Arsenal Should Fear Us” have made good copy but generated more heat than light. The fact is that both these teams, the managers and even the supporters, have huge respect for one another. There is little of the hostility or bitterness that flavours matches between either of them and Manchester United or Chelsea, but that does not mean this trilogy of matches will not be very keenly contested, with no quarter asked or given.

From our friends at Goal.com

Fernando Torres’ early strike gave Liverpool a precious five-point lead over their Merseyside rivals in the race for Champions League qualification.

Torres cost Liverpool around £20million last summer, and this goal - of all the 28 he has grabbed so far - could be the one that earns the riches that come from participating in Europe’s premier competition each season.

The possibility that the Baltimore Orioles may abandon a plan to build a spring training park at Fort Lauderdale could spare Lockhart Stadium from being demolished.

If so, South Florida’s soccer community will still have at least one stadium for its international games. Wednesday night, every one of Lockhart’s seats was needed as a lively crowd of 18,886 turned out to see Honduras beat Colombia 2-1 in a friendly match.

Both teams brought their full rosters for an entertaining match that saw plenty of scoring chances. The fans, about two-thirds Honduran, gave back by producing a vibrant atmosphere reminiscent of Lockhart’s best soccer nights.

Inter Milan striker David Suazo and defender Hendry Thomas scored for Honduras. Wason Renteria scored for Colombia, which came close on several chances for a late equalizer.

Carlos Bocanegra and Oguchi Onyewu headed in first-half goals, substitute Eddie Lewis scored in the second half, and the United States beat Poland 3-0 in an exhibition games Wednesday night. The three-goal margin of victory was the largest for the Americans in Europe since a 3-0 victory over Austria in 1998. Since that match in Vienna, the U.S. team is 4-14-3 in Europe, defeating Poland three times and Switzerland last October.

Landon Donovan, making his 99th international appearance, set up the first two goals. His free kick was headed in by Bocanegra in the 12th minute, and Donovan curled in a corner kick in the 35th minute to Onyewu, who scored in his second straight international game.

Lewis scored on a left-footed free kick in the 73rd minute.

Donovan touched a ball past defender Grzegorz Bronowicki four minutes into the second half and raced unmarked on goal but sent a right-footed shot from just inside the penalty area wide right.

Poland, grouped with Germany, Austria and Croatia at June’s European Championship, struggled to find gaps in the U.S. defense. The best Poland chance came in the 56th, when substitute Radoslaw Matusiak danced through a host of defenders to fire a hard drive that goalkeeper Tim Howard punched over the crossbar.

Liverpool could still have a say in the Premier League title race after rediscovering their form, manager Rafael Benitez said on Tuesday.

‘If we beat Everton after that we will be closer still. Maybe, maybe we can be closer if we don’t talk too much about it.’ Five consecutive league victories have strengthened Liverpool’s grip on fourth place and home and away wins over Inter Milan in the Champions League have changed the mood at Anfield after their FA Cup defeat by Barnsley. They are eight points behind leaders Manchester United and Arsenal, but have still to play them both, starting with United at Old Trafford on Easter Sunday. ‘How near we finish to the top now will be interesting,’ Benitez told the club’s website on Tuesday. ‘We have been criticised this season, but let us see where we are in three or four weeks. ‘We have important games and if we win them we will be a lot closer. If we can beat Manchester United we will be closer to the top, and that will give us more confidence. Liverpool have a daunting fixture list in the next few weeks. After United they face Everton at home in the Merseyside derby followed by three consecutive matches against Arsenal, two in the Champions League quarter-final with a league game sandwiched in between.

Arsenal have been drawn against Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

The Premier League giants will face each other three times in a week next month, with a top-flight match sandwiched between the two legs. Manchester United will face Roma - who they have played in the competition already this season and knocked out a year ago - with the second leg at Old Trafford. Chelsea have the most favourable draw of the English clubs with a trip to Istanbul to face tournament outsiders Fenerbahce, before a second leg at Stamford Bridge. In the other last-eight tie, Barcelona take on Schalke. Arsenal and Liverpool have never faced each other in European competition before, but the stage is set for a more familiar semi-final line-up. Should the Merseyside club make it through to the last four - with the ties being played on April 22/23 and 29/30 - they would be likely to face Chelsea at that stage for the third time in four years. Were Arsenal and the Blues to make it through, it would be a repeat of the quarter-final clash from 2003/04 when Chelsea prevailed. If Manchester United see off Roma - who they thrashed 7-1 at Old Trafford in the last eight a year ago - they would take on the winner of Schalke versus Barcelona in the semi-finals. Today was the first time four clubs from a single country have figured in the quarter-finals draw for the Champions League. The final will take place in Moscow on May 21. Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry admitted Arsenal were not the team he had hoped to face. With half the last eight being English teams there was a strong possibility of two meeting each other, and Arsenal and Liverpool were the first two names out of the hat. Parry told Sky Sports News: ‘We’d hoped to avoid the English teams at this stage but statistically there were bound to be two coming together and unfortunately it’s us. ‘We play Arsenal in a league game in between so we’ll be playing them three times in a week.’ Parry does not expect the two games next month to differ from their league meetings. ‘It’ll be very similar,’ he added. ‘We know them extremely well and they know us. ‘The three games are going to very, very tight. I don’t think the Champions League is going to be any different, it’s tough. ‘We’ve successfully avoided a trip to Turkey (to face Fenerbahce) so that’s a bonus.’ On the prospect of facing Chelsea in the semi-finals once again, Parry added: ‘We had noticed. ‘Interestingly, the prospect of two English teams in the final in Moscow remains very much alive and that would be interesting to say the least.’ Manchester United club secretary Ken Ramsden was happy with his side’s draw against Roma. United will play the Italian giants for the fifth and sixth time in less than a year when they meet next month. ‘That’s a good draw, I think,’ Ramsden said on Sky Sports News. ‘As a fan, I’m glad we’re not playing an English team because it loses that flavour of a continental game. ‘We’re away first, which will please the manager, I’m sure. All in all, a good day, I think.’ Asked about the prospect of a repeat of last season’s 8-3 aggregate thrashing of the Italians, Ramsden said: ‘It would be nice. ‘We have a good record against them so there’s no reason why we should be afraid.’ He added: ‘We’re playing well but every team in the quarter-finals says the same thing.’ After the problems United faced in Rome last season when there were skirmishes between supporters and police, Ramsden believes December’s group-phase meeting proved a tie between the sides could pass off largely trouble-free. ‘We had a problem two years ago (last season) as is well known, but this year is nowhere near such a problem,’ he said. ‘The fans learned a little bit. I think the Roman authorities learned a lot. ‘We’ll still do all our work. We’ll go next week and do the full recon. If the fans follow the advice, they’re less likely to have problems.’ Arsenal managing director Keith Edelman acknowledged Liverpool’s recent record in the competition, where they have reached the final twice in the past three years, winning in 2005. ‘Liverpool are a great team,’ Edelman told Sky Sports News. ‘They’ve obviously had fantastic performances in this competition and we’ll play them three times in a week, so we’ll get to know them pretty well. ‘I think it should make compelling viewing for the fans and I think they’ll be very exciting matches.’ Arsenal reached the Champions League final in 2006, losing to Barcelona, and Edelman believes their last-16 victory over defending champions AC Milan should give them a lot of encouragement. ‘The AC Milan match was very important,’ added Edelman. ‘We played some sublime football and to go and beat them in the San Siro must give us a lot of hope and belief we can go all the way this time.’ Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon was ‘delighted’ to have drawn Fenerbahce. ‘First and foremost, we managed to avoid another English team,’ he added. Kenyon believes Turkey’s reputation for fan trouble is a thing of the past. ‘I think that’s gone,’ he said. ‘It’s the first time we’ve ever played Fenerbahce so there’s no history between the two clubs and I think everyone will be looking forward to a good quarter-final.’ Of Chelsea’s opponents, Kenyon said: ‘You’ve got to give them a lot of respect. ‘There’s no such thing as an easy team or an easy game at this level.’ The Champions League arguably represents Chelsea’s best chance of silverware this season after their Carling Cup and FA Cup disappointments. Kenyon said: ‘Some disappointments right the way through but I think we’ve absolute confidence in the quality of the team and the coaching staff.’ He added: ‘There’s a lot of clubs who didn’t want to draw Chelsea. ‘We’re got a real pedigree in Europe.