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Rafael Benitez says Alex Ferguson ignored pre-match handshake

Chelsea interim boss Rafael Benitez said Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson ignored their handshake before Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final.

The pair have had an increasingly fraught relationship since the Spaniard's time at Liverpool and the tension surfaced again at Old Trafford.

Benitez said: "I was waiting for him at the beginning, so you should ask him. I have education. I was ready.

"I know a lot of people were watching and I knew what to do."

He added: "It's up to him. I was in the way waiting. If you are brave enough, ask him."

A growing animosity between Ferguson and Benitez, formerly on friendly terms, came to a head in January 2009 when the then Liverpool manager famously claimed the Scot received preferential treatmentfrom the football authorities.

"Everyone can see that I'm talking about facts," the Liverpool manager told journalists. "I'm just saying things that everybody can see."

Most recently, Ferguson described the former Valencia and Inter Milan boss as a "lucky manager" after he landed the post at Stamford Bridge.

The pair again failed to shake hands at the final whistle on Sunday after Chelsea staged a stirring comeback from 2-0 down, goals from substitute Eden Hazard and Ramires in the second half setting up a replay at Stamford Bridge for the right to face Manchester City in the semi-final.

Early strikes from Javier Hernandez and the recalled Wayne Rooney had put United in command.

Benitez explained: "I was with my players, celebrating."Chelsea ended the game in the ascendancy and Benitez said: "We have analysed the game and we deserved to win.

"We had some good counter-attacks even when we were two goals down in the first half and in the second half we were on top of them with some good football, great team spirit and working hard with passion and commitment."

Benitez changed the course of the game just after the break when he replaced Frank Lampard and Victor Moses with Hazard and Jon Mikel Obi.

He said: "I am a professional. We had been to Romania in the Europa League on Thursday and I knew we had players who would be tired and we had to manage the squad.

"We started with fresh legs but knew we would have to make substitutions and Hazard is a player with quality who can change [a game]."

Juve earn Conte praise

Juventus coach Antonio Conte was thrilled hailed his side's character after they overcame Catania 1-0 in the Serie A on Sunday.

Emanuele Giaccherini was the hero for the Turin side after he struck in injury time to snatch all three points, with the win moving the reigning champions nine points clear at the top of the table.

Conte was full of praise for his side after what he deemed as a 'mature' display. 

"We won thanks to our determination and confidence today, we won because my players

believed we could make it till the end of the game," he said.

"We faced Catania that is the revelation team this season and we forced them to play a very defensive game.
"They played in defence and played very well, their organization was great and sometimes they managed to counter attack, but Gigi (Gianluigi Buffon) had to save only one shot at goal today.

"My team managed to lead the game and I'm very happy, we surely proved we are mature, these are games that you could risk to lose if you lose concentration and calmness, while we were great and relaxed, we believed in ourselves until the end."

Despite their comfortable lead in the league, Conte refused to concede their second consecutive Scudetto is assured.

"We cannot think we have the Scudetto in our hands and manage our strengths from now on, when we try and manage games we always make mistakes and disasters," he said.

"(If we did believe the Scudetto is already won), we would start playing more defensively and that's not our style, that's not what I tell my guys. That would go against my principles and do damage if my guys were to start thinking like that."

Benitez claims Fergie handshake snub

Chelsea boss Rafael Benitez claims Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson avoided shaking his hand after Sunday's 2-2 FA Cup draw.

Benitez's men came from two goals down at Old Trafford to force a replay of the quarter-final tie, but the post-match focus was quickly drawn to renewed hostilities between Benitez and the Scot.

Ferguson's supposed snub adds to a growing collection of incidents in a long-running feud between the two managers, dating back to Benitez's time in charge of Liverpool.

Asked why he had not shaken hands with Ferguson, Benitez told reporters: "I was waiting. I have education. I knew that a lot of people were watching. Ask him (Ferguson) if you are brave enough."

The under-pressure interim manager was delighted by his side's performance after falling two goals down within the first 11 minutes, with second-half strikes from Eden Hazard and Ramires ensuring that a replay at Stamford Bridge.

Speaking to ITV after the final whistle, Benitez believes his side were unlucky not to have taken the win that would have confirmed a semi-final date with Manchester City at Wembley.

He continued: "I think that, especially in the second half, we were on top of them. We created the best chances and we were controlling the game."

"We have to think about the first game, and afterwards we think about City. It will be tough and it will be difficult because United are a great side."

Ferguson preferred to focus on on-field matters afterwards, claiming his side could have easily been eliminated by a rampant Chelsea response.

The United boss added that his side's midweek Champions League exit had an adverse effect on the performance.

"We're lucky to be in the cup," Ferguson told reporters. "We just ran out of legs and Chelsea were far the better team in the second half.

"But I can't be critical of my side because the running they had to do on Tuesday night, against a really top side in Real Madrid, had its bearing on today's result, no doubt about that.

"The two full-backs, Rafael and Patrice (Evra), are knackered and the two central midfielders tired badly. We kept giving the ball away and it made it a long day for us, going from one penalty box and back to our own."

Manchester United v Chelsea: Wayne Rooney blows big chance to impress on return to starting line-up

If Wayne Rooney’s performance against Chelsea proved anything, it was that Sir Alex Ferguson was right to omit the Manchester United forward from his starting line-up against Real Madrid last Tuesday.

Just when he needed an eight out of 10 performance, Rooney could do no better than a six. It was a missed opportunity to remind us all why he is United’s highest-paid player and the one who, despite his failings on the international stage, remains England’s talisman going into this month’s World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro.

Rooney will not be expected to fulfil more media obligations than his team-mates, the Football Association insisted in response to Ferguson’s claims that the player does too much commercial activity when he is on England duty.

Still, these are turbulent times in Wayne’s world. If Rooney remains Man Utd  player next season, as Ferguson insists he will, he risks becoming the highest-paid utility player in the country.

There is no escaping the fact that the 27-year-old is no longer the player he was, or indeed should be, and that reality is a painful one for somebody once billed as the “golden boy of English football” by Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Dropped against Real, this was Rooney’s opportunity to prove a point to Ferguson by dominating this FA Cup quarter-final tie against Chelsea and, in the absence of the rested Robin van Persie, restate his case to be regarded as United’s main man, the one who makes the difference when the team are in need of inspiration.

Liverpool 3-2 Tottenham

STEVEN GERRARD’S penalty ended Tottenham’s unbeaten run and moved Liverpool above rivals Everton.

Luis Suarez put the Reds in front only for Jan Vertonghen’s double either side of half-time to give Spurs the advantage.

Kyle Walker’s mistake gifted Stewart Downing an equaliser before Benoit Assou-Ekotto’s clumsy challenge sent Suarez tumbling in the area.

With 10 minutes to play Kop captain Gerrard stepped up to snatch the win for Liverpool.

Spurs’ last defeat was on Merseyside when they went down to Everton on December 9.

And they will need to bounce back quickly to maintain their push for the Champions League places.

KOP ON TOP ... Luis Suarez opens the scoring

Daniel Sturridge was released by Phillipe Coutinho for an early chance but the striker took the ball too wide with his touch.

Gareth Bale had a long-range free-kick just parried wide by Brad Jones before Coutinho fired just over.

The lively Brazilian combined well with Jose Enrique down the left before the full-back picked out Suarez.

And the in-form striker finished brilliantly past Hugo Lloris to give his side a deserved lead after 20 minutes.

JAN THE MAN ... Vertonghen equalises

Bale began to get involved and set up Gylfi Sigurdsson with a brilliant flick off his heel.

But the Icelander dragged his shot wide when he should have done better.

Lucas Leiva had been doing a good job of stewarding Bale but he briefly lost track of his man and the Welshman put in a decent cross.

And Vertonghen rose above the defence to head Tottenham level on the stroke of half-time.

Jones saved from Defoe after the break but could do nothing when Vertonghen fired home his second.

GERMANY/ BORUSSIA, Mission for Gameiro

According to L'Equipe, Borussia Dortmund have sent their agents to Paris to observe PSG 25 year old forward Kevin Gameiro.