United are experiencing a wobble and Liverpool, with a third straight league win for the first time since October and a crushing victory over Real Madrid still fresh in the memory, have been playing better than ever before during Benítez's reign. "Rafa's cracking up," sang the Kop.
That was the accusation from Old Trafford, one that Liverpool supporters can now afford to laugh at as their renascent side produced yet another free-scoring display to sweep aside Aston Villa with consummate ease. It is now 13 goals in the last three matches. Not bad for a manager with a reputation for being defensively minded and not bad for a team whose chances of winning the league were supposed to have disappeared with defeat at Middlesbrough last month.
The title race is most definitely back on and, if Liverpool can sustain this level of performance over the final eight matches of the season, United will have to work much harder for their 18th league title than anyone at Old Trafford could have imagined a few weeks ago. Ferguson's side certainly appear to have the easier run-in on paper, although the defeat at Fulham yesterday highlights the danger of making conclusions based on that supposition. No one atManchester United will be taking anything for granted.
Perhaps the greatest comfort to Ferguson and his players following back-to-back league defeats is that their next opponents are the team that Liverpool dismantled with such crushing consequences here. Villa have a dreadful record against Manchester United - not since the start of the 1995 season have they secured a league victory - and so low are the confidence levels within Martin O'Neill's side that it is difficult to believe United will not find an instant remedy for their malaise at Old Trafford two weeks today. There will certainly be plenty of encouragement to be found in viewing the footage of Villa's listless showing yesterday.
Defensively Villa were embarrassing and nothing epitomised their disorganisation at the back more than the shambolic second goal that was conceded in the 32nd minute. Pepe Reina gathered Gareth Barry's free-kick and with one giant swing of the right boot launched the ball from back to front for the rampaging Albert Riera to strike a first-time volley beyond Brad Friedel. It was the sort of goal that will bring O'Neill out in a cold sweat for weeks to come and leave Rafael Benítez wondering why he had bothered to dedicate any time in the lead-up to this match analysing how to break Villa down.
Steven Gerrard duly converted before later adding a free-kick and then another from the spot, after Friedel was dismissed for hauling down Fernando Torres, to complete his first Premier League hat-trick for Liverpool. It was that kind of afternoon for Benítez's side and, if the Spaniard was getting ahead of himself when he claimed in January that "Manchester United are getting nervous", it would be difficult to criticise the Liverpool manager for thinking the same right now. As Ferguson once said, "It's squeaky bum time."
