SOCCER PREMIER LEAGUE:LIVERPOOL HAVE accepted an offer of around €6.7 million from CSKA Moscow for their outspoken midfielder Albert Riera and hope to conclude the sale of Rafael Benitez's critic by the end of this week.
The Spain international is due to return to training at Melwood today having served a club suspension for last week’s public attack on Benitez’s management style. Whether the 27-year-old gets as far as the training pitch is debatable, however, with Liverpool now willing to cash in on the marginalised winger and allow Riera to discuss personal terms with CSKA. Russia’s transfer window is open until April 8th.
Liverpool are hopeful of a swift deal for Riera, who has cut an increasingly frustrated figure in a season where he has been restricted to only 16 appearances and whose desire for first-team football ahead of the World Cup may have prompted his outburst on Radio Marca. The winger, signed for €8.9 million from Espanyol in 2008, described Liverpool as a “sinking ship” in the interview and was scathing in the assessment of Benitez, who he claimed held a personal grudge against him and had zero dialogue with players.
Jamie Carragher, meanwhile, remains convinced that Liverpool stand a realistic chance of finishing fourth and reaching next season’s Champions League qualifiers despite suffering a 10th Premier League defeat of the season at Old Trafford on Sunday. Benitez’s side sit sixth after the 2-1 defeat by Manchester United.
“Of course we believe we can still close the gap,” said Carragher, whose team are now four points behind Tottenham Hotspur, two behind Manchester City and one ahead of Aston Villa. “Things are a bit more difficult now but we still have lots of points to play for.”
Even so, the Liverpool defender knows that with all three rivals for fourth holding games in hand, he and his team-mates cannot afford to dwell on defeat against the club from along the M62.
“We have just got to recover from this as soon as possible and get on a run of victories,” he said. “We have to move on, but Sunday was the most difficult fixture we had left before the season ends.”
Carlo Ancelotti and his title-chasing Chelsea players may beg to differ. They visit Anfield on the season’s penultimate weekend in what may prove to be a make-or-break fixture for both clubs – and perhaps their respective managers.
Chelsea apart, though, Carragher’s optimism does have some foundation. Liverpool have no other fixtures against teams positioned higher than ninth, with home games against Sunderland, Fulham and Burnley interspersed with trips to Birmingham City, West Ham United and Hull City.
No one, though, is quite sure what impact a two-leg Europa League quarter-final against Benfica will have on Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and company. Moreover, several of the teams they do face will be fighting for their Premier League lives.
Carragher was at least encouraged by Liverpool’s performance against United. “We were playing against a top side and we ran them close. It was really disappointing to lose as there wasn’t much between the sides in the game. We have to accept we lost, but you didn’t see too many chances.”
He trusts some of the heat will shortly be transferred to Manchester City, Spurs and, possibly, Villa, the current dark horses. “They will have difficult spells,” the defender said. “And we’ve just got to make sure we take maximum points when City and Spurs do.”
Although Liverpool can derive encouragement from a daunting Tottenham itinerary featuring games against Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, City look very much in pole position. Unlike Spurs and Villa they are not distracted by FA Cup involvement and, in Roberto Mancini, have a manager who knows finishing fourth almost certainly represents his sole hope of keeping the job.
All Benitez’s players can do is strive to keep winning. But even Benitez tacitly accepts Liverpool’s fate is out of his hands. That managerial “guarantee” of fourth place is looking a little hollow.
Guardian Service
