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Rafa Benitez opened up about his rivalry with Jose Mourinho

Former Liverpool boss, Rafa Benitez spoke about the pressure on Frank Lampard as Chelsea will be meeting Tottenham Hotspur in the second round of English Premier League 2020-21. Lampard’s wards sealed a comfortable victory over a relatively inferior Brighton as Jorginho, Reece James and Kurt Zouma were on target for the Blues.

Rafa Benitez, the boss of the Chinese side, Dalian Pro, opened up about his former stint in England and how it is imperative for Frank Lampard to deliver in the upcoming season of Premier League, especially after the splurge made by Roman Abramovich in the summer window.

With a hint of mischief in his voice, Benitez said, “Roman Abramovich is back”. This statement was nothing but an emphasis on the fact that Chelsea’s transfer spree in the summer was a burning testimony of their boss’ fortune and influence.

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Benitez has spent six months in the Stamford Bridge dugout that gave him a fair idea of how things operate under Roman and when the money is splurged, even the slightest inkling of failure can cost dearly.

Teasing Jose Mourinho, Benitez mentioned that his rivalry with “The Special One” was massively beneficial to the game. He expressed how passion and emotions got the best of both the sides and earned copious respect until someone infringed those unstated barriers.

Benitez highlighted the fact that with the squad that Chelsea had at that point in time and with the amount of money involved, Benitez called it progress on his side’s behalf whenever Liverpool and Chelsea crossed paths.

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He opened up about how they modulated their zonal markings to contain John Terry’s vicious corners and also how he explained things to Sami Hyypia, laying down the fact that Didier Drogba was faster than him and how exactly can the former flip the tide around in his favour when the two went head to head.

For a solitary game, Benitez had a tantalizing glimpse of a blip on the right side of the Chelsea defence. However, even before he could strike with the hammer, Chelsea switched Michael Essien to the right and the gap was plugged.

Benitez is currently at the helm of affairs for Chinese side, Dalian Pro and has already expressed how he dearly wishes to come back to England.

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Transfers made by Chelsea in the summer window:

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