Bullish Benitez claims Fergie is running scared

RAFAEL BENITEZ has accused Alex Ferguson of being scared of his Liverpool side and talking “too much” about other teams.

The Anfield chief, despite having the Champions League showdown with Chelsea tonight as his immediate objective, could not resist another swipe at the Manchester United chief as the Barclays Premier League race reaches boiling point.

Benitez was responding to claims from Ferguson that the loser of the Liverpool-Chelsea quarter-final will then be United’s biggest challenger for the title because they will only have one competition to contend with.