With qualification for both sides secure, and even the status of group winners a dubious honour given the strength of some sides that might yet finish in second place, this match had all the makings of a phoney war. But the comfortable pitch- side bonhomie that Jose Mourinho and Benitez had enjoyed before their Premiership match in October dissolved in the crossfire of allegations that raged at Stamford Bridge last night after their fourth Champions' League encounter in eight months ended in a third goalless draw.
With Essien escaping even a booking from the referee Herbert Fandel, Benitez said that it was an incident that should be settled by Uefa reviewing the video. "I could see the tackle, it was right in front of the bench," Benitez said, "I have also seen the leg of Dietmar Hamann [after the tackle] you should look at the video of the challenge." The Liverpool manager did nothing more than urge his questioners, and Uefa, to take a second look but he may find himself disappointed: the governing body's jurisdiction is unlikely to extend to reviewing the incident.
Hamann hobbled away with the marks on his leg clearly visible in the close-up shot on television. "It was the worst tackle I have ever received in my life," the midfielder said, "and he has not even apologised for it." Those who witnessed Essien's foul on Bolton's Tal Ben Haim in October, an equally vicious studs-up lunge that only earned him a booking, will not have been so surprised at the Ghanaian's actions.
As the Liverpool bench erupted in protest, Mourinho and his fitness coach Rui Faria, never short of an opinion, responded in kind. The Chelsea manager said he had told the Liverpool staff that they "had been crying all game, all the time." He added: "I was saying, 'That's enough. Sit down, relax'. With me, referees are always very direct to put me in my place, but other managers can do what they want."
Offering an example, Mourinho said that he would have been banned "for three months" if he had run on the pitch as Manchester City's Stuart Pearce did against Blackburn Rovers. Mourinho said he had not seen the Essien challenge and he was even less concerned about the prospect of finishing second in the group, which means that Chelsea could be drawn against Internazionale, Milan or Lyon, who all finished top of their groups last night.