Chelsea (1) v Liverpool (1):THE CHAMPIONS League is as much a lifebelt as a gleaming crown. It has kept Rafael Benitez afloat at Liverpool and triumph in that tournament still seems the most feasible way for Avram Grant to ensure he stays buoyant at Chelsea.
One of those managers will, of course, have a sinking feeling when the clubs are done with one another in the second leg of the semi-final tonight.
The resemblances between these individuals are imperfect. Grant can protest that he has, at worst, taken the struggle for the Premier League to the limit despite having the wretched task of following that brilliant demagogue Jose Mourinho.
Having once again floundered in that competition, Benitez will revert to the fall-back argument that he has not been allowed to spend the sums required to assemble a squad that is, week by week, the equal of Chelsea's or Manchester United's.
This disadvantage is, ironically, the basis of the Spaniard's job security. Supporters have never rebelled against him, in any case, and they definitely will not be finding the time to reproach Benitez when there is a stand-off between the co-owners of Liverpool, Tom Hicks and George Gillett. The manager, positioned in front of such a backdrop, is the model of efficiency.
Upheaval at Liverpool works in his favour. Having finished third in each of the last two campaigns, the side will finish fourth in the Premier League this season, but that can be passed off as a steady showing when there is so much instability everywhere else at Anfield. Rather than fearing for his future, Benitez has left his employers dreading that another club might recruit him.
Real Madrid, on the brink of winning La Liga for a second consecutive season, would have to think instantly of Benitez if they cannot bear the repeated flops in the Champions League. He made that tournament a torture chamber for rivals, including Mourinho, and it is his comfort zone. Even the manager's one lapse led to a vindication of his stance over the funding of the club.
In March 2006, Liverpool, the holders, were eliminated 3-0 on aggregate by Benfica in the last 16. Subsequently Liverpool reached their record total in the Premier League of 82 points. More often the club has witnessed that process in reverse, when the team turns to the Champions League after taking precious little out of itself in domestic football.
Even so it is not all a matter of energy levels or the standard of the squad as a whole. Benitez is excellent at scheming for the set-piece occasions and, but for the bizarre own-goal from John Arne Riise, Liverpool would have had a sound 1-0 lead in the tie. Now the manager is recalibrating.
Anyone daft enough to expect a dashing game tonight would have been chastened to hear him speak yesterday. Benitez reflected with some satisfaction on the likely impact of goalkeeper Jose Reina in a shoot-out. Despite having secured the 2002 Under-21 European Championship on penalties for the Czech Republic after a final with France, Petr Cech has seldom looked likely to pull off such heroics with Chelsea.
Grant's situation is the reverse of Benitez's. He will not wish to make elaborate plans for this evening. Some adjustments can be anticipated and, since Steven Gerrard will be on the pitch for Liverpool, then so, too, must the holding midfielder Claude Makelele be for Chelsea.
The manager, all the same, is not liable to be as obsessed with the minutiae as Mourinho was. Grant will tell his men they cope rather well with Liverpool time after time in the Premier League. Why should the mentality alter just because the name of the competition has altered? Instead of being fixated on their away goal at Anfield, they could simply focus on beating today's visitors.
That is elementary, but queasiness comes from the appreciation that Liverpool do conduct themselves deftly in these ties. Having been knocked out of the FA Cup by Barnsley, the side was immediately more at ease against one of the most apparently formidable opponents imaginable. Liverpool cruised past Internazionale by following a 2-0 win at Anfield with a 1-0 victory at San Siro.
There is a grave challenge before Chelsea.
Nonetheless, getting the better of Benitez would be the swiftest means possible for Grant to achieve the status that will fully establish him at Stamford Bridge.
Grant watched Frank Lampard train with the squad at Stamford Bridge last night, the midfielder having returned from compassionate leave after the death of his mother. He is understood to want to play, and Grant may drop Michael Essien, in top form against Manchester United on Saturday, to right-back to accommodate him.
Guardian Service
Venue: Stamford Bridge Kick-off: 7.45pm On TV: RTÉ 2, Sky Sports 2
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