Benitez mocks Allardyce as feud festers

Rafael Benitez stoked his long-running feud with Sam Allardyce by mocking the Blackburn manager’s no-nonsense style of football.

The Spaniard joked that Barcelona were thinking of copying Allardyce’s blueprint for success after Liverpool’s bruising 2-1 win over Rovers at Anfield on Sunday.

Allardyce had taunted arch-critic Benitez before the game by claiming that Liverpool are turning into the new Bolton – the Englishman’s old side.

The pair’s long-running feud began in August 2004 when Liverpool lost 1-0 in an ugly encounter with Bolton – their first defeat under Benitez.

The Spaniard attacked Bolton’s strong-arm tactics then and the managers became embroiled in another spat last season.

That time, Allardyce, by then in charge at Blackburn, was furious at a Benitez hand gesture he interpreted as signalling that the game was all over when Liverpool had taken a 2-0 lead at Anfield.

Benitez tried to clarify the issue by claiming that he was jokingly telling his players not to listen to him after they had ignored his orders and gone on to score.

Allardyce’s anger still simmers, though, and ahead of Sunday’s game he declared that Liverpool’s recent run of hard-fought results had been achieved with the same uncompromising style about which Benitez was once so disparaging.

But after Fernando Torres had marked his first Premier League start of 2010 with the winner to maintain Liverpool’s hopes of finishing fourth and qualifying for next season’s Champions League, Benitez hit back at Allardyce.

“I think he’s a model for all the managers around the world,” the Spaniard said of his opposite number.

“I’m sure he’s a model. His style of football, his behaviour, everything. He’s the perfect model for all the kids. Their style of football… I think Barcelona are thinking of copying the style.”

Blackburn created more chances than Liverpool but their bruising style left Benitez unimpressed.

Five Rovers players were booked while Steven Nzonzi was fortunate not to be sent off after shoving Lucas to the floor.

Benitez said the French under-21 international should have been sent off.

“The Nzonzi incident was very clear. He touched the face of Lucas. The rules are the rules,” added Benitez.

“We prefer to do our talking on the pitch.

“It doesn’t matter (that Blackburn created more chances). We won.

“If they are pleased with the way they play under this manager then that’s their decision. We prefer to try and win by trying to play well. Sometimes you cannot.

“We can win on the pitch and enjoy. Some people have to talk before or after the game because it is more difficult for them to do a football job.”

Allardyce defended his actions and insisted that he had every right to criticise Benitez and Liverpool.

“I’m entitled to respond when I get criticised by Rafa Benitez,” said Allardyce.

“I’m entitled to respond to that so if you don’t understand that over the last few years then you must be deluded.

“Many other times I’ve been criticised personally by the manager so I feel I have the right (to criticise) back. We had five bookings and 25 fouls against us and that was not a fair reflection of how we played.

“I think if we’d have had a goalscorer we would have win the game.

“We failed because we didn’t have a goalscorer and they had Torres and (Steven) Gerrard. They are top quality players and they get half a chance and they score.”

Gerrard had opened the scoring only for Keith Andrews to equalise from the penalty spot after Jamie Carragher had handled inside his area.

Torres’s 13th Premier League goal of the season sealed victory. Benitez reckons the striker and England midfielder Gerrard could prove vital in the race to finish fourth.

“If Gerrard and Torres play well and score goals then they can make all the difference,” said the Liverpool manager.