Rafa Benitez stoked his feud with Sam Allardyce by mocking his no-nonsense style of soccer.
The Spaniard joked that Barcelona were thinking of copying Allardyce’s blueprint for success after Liverpool’s bruising 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers at Anfield on Sunday.
Allardyce taunted 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 2004 when Liverpool lost 1-0 in an ugly encounter with Bolton.
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.
Ahead of Sunday’s game Allardyce 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 the year 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 behavior, everything. He’s the perfect model for all the kids. Their style of football ... I think Barcelona are thinking of copying the style.”
Steve Gerrard had opened the scoring only for Keith Andrews to equalize from the spot.
Torres’ goal sealed the 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,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur survived a strong Everton fightback to secure a 2-1 home win.
Spurs produced a dominant first-half display at White Hart Lane and led 2-0 at the break.
Roman Pavlyuchenko opened the scoring after 11 minutes and Luka Modric got the second after 28 with a brilliant chip.
The game changed five minutes into the second half though when Tottenham lost impressive midfielder Tom Huddlestone and Everton began to take command.
They pulled a goal back after 53 minutes when Ayegbeni Yakubu cashed in on an error by Heurelho Gomes but the Spurs ’keeper made amends with good saves to deny Jack Rodwell and Steven Pienaar.
The day’s other match between Sunderland and Fulham ended 0-0.
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