BENITEZ REVELLING IN RAFA-LUTION

Aristo Dotse 22 January 2007

Liverpool beat Chelsea in impressive style at Anfield on Saturday to give Rafa Benitez a happy centenary celebration in his 100th league game in charge of the Reds since joining in the summer of 2004. The sweet 2-0 win was not only his first league victory over Chelsea, it also helped give him a special place in the rich history of Liverpool. The great Bill Shankly is considered the Godfather of the club, and for Benitez to match his Liverpool record of 56 victories in his first 100 league games is commendable. His place in Anfield folklore is already firmly established. Even before securing this achievement last Saturday, there's another Benitez record – his 50th league victory – that also deserves a mention. The remarkable 4-0 dismissal of Fulham at Anfield on December 9 ensured Rafa's 50th league win - in less than two and half years. That's a better record than both Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger over the same period. Liverpool may not have won the league yet under Benitez - and we've admittedly seen some very disappointing league defeats, such as the 4-1 home loss to Chelsea in October 2005 - but the bigger picture tells a very impressive story, which is one of the best, if not the best, in the annals of the Reds. One of the major ingredients that helped Liverpool win the league in the past was that Anfield was made a fortress, where teams visited and left with not much to talk about. Rafa is gradually bringing back that Anfield invincibility. Indeed Anfield, quite correctly, is once again a fortress, as Bolton and Chelsea (the last team to win at Anfield two years back) bitterly found out in the last two league games. The Reds have the best home record in the Premiership this season, with 10 wins, two draws and only three goals conceded in 12 matches. Just three goals against bring up another impressive thing to talk about: the clean sheets the team has chalked under Benitez. Liverpool have conceded only one goal (against Blackburn at Ewood Park) in their last 12 league games. What an impressive record this is – and let's not forget last season's record-breaking defending. It is also worth noting that, while Liverpool finished only third in the league last season, they bagged 81 points, the highest haul since we were last champions. This could and can be bettered this year. With 46 already in the bag and a maximum of 52 still to play for, anything can happen. And who knows, the league season could still see Liverpool celebrating at the end. Another significant achievement for Benitez so far has been his development of players. Under him, the likes of the Steve Finnan (the unsung hero in the team), Luis Garcia, Momo Sissoko, Peter Crouch, Steve Warnock and, above all, the indefatigable Jamie Carragher have drastically improved as players.