In recent seasons Benitez has made little attempt to disguise his feelings that the Premier League was strictly a second priority after the Champions League.
Liverpool have offered an apology over the alleged racist abuse suffered by Oldham Athletic's Tom Adeyemi at Anfield during Friday's third round FA Cup match for which a spectator was arrested and charged over the weekend.
Liverpool frustrated as they were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at Brighton on Saturday
Liverpool will resume their quest for a first top-flight title in 30 years at city rivals Everton on June 21, as the English Premier League released its revised fixture list for the first three weeks of the restarted season on Friday. Liverpool are 25 points clear at the top and are two victories away from winning the Premier League, but will have a shot at securing the title by beating Everton if City lose to Arsenal.
Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic has been banned for two games following his sending-off during the 4-1 home defeat by Liverpool on Saturday.
Joint-leaders Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool both dropped points on a busy day of English Premier League action as Leicester City and Southampton narrowed the gap in what is shaping up to be one of the most open title races for years.
Manchester United great Paul Scholes has said he is scared about the club's future and believes they could spiral into decline in the same way rivals Liverpool did in the 1990s.
Fernando Torres scored twice as Liverpool battled to a 3-2 English Premier League win at West Ham United on Saturday after the Londoners had twice pegged them back. Belgian centre back Thomas Vermaelen was a less likely two-goal hero as his double set up Arsenal for a 4-0 home thrashing of Wigan Athletic - emphatically avoiding a hat-trick of defeats after losses to Manchester United and City.
Arsenal defeated London rivals Chelsea 1-0 for their first win in four Premier League games on Sunday as a headed goal by stand-in striker Mikel Merino boosted their faint hopes of catching up with runaway leaders Liverpool.
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez's gamble to play an "80 percent" fit Fernando Torres paid off when the Spaniard got the first goal in a 2-0 win over Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.
Manchester City stumbled to the most unexpected defeat of the Premier League season on Saturday before neighbours Manchester United began their brave new world under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with a glorious reminder of long-forgotten attacking swagger.
Manchester United will hike prices for away fans when they host Barcelona in their Champions League quarter-final first leg to subsidise tickets for their own supporters travelling to Spain for the return, the Premier League club said.
The race for Premier League places in next season's Europa League warmed up on Sunday when Aston Villa and Everton fought out a thrilling 3-3 draw and Fulham came from behind to win 3-1 at Manchester City.
Steven Gerrard scored on his first start for seven months before Javier Hernandez headed a late equaliser as Liverpool and Manchester United battled to a 1-1 draw in the Premier League at Anfield on Saturday.
City manager Pep Guardiola had kept his cards close to his chest on Friday, saying Haaland would be assessed after training, but the Norwegian didn't appear to participate in that training.
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Manager Roy Hodgson has hinted that Liverpool are unlikely to mount a Premier League title challenge this season.
Manchester City set a new top-flight record of 15 consecutive wins as their seemingly unstoppable march towards the English Premier League title continued with a 4-0 romp at bottom club Swansea City.
Swansea went ahead five minutes before the break when an attempt to clear by Liverpool's 75 million pounds ($104.88 million) defender Virgil Van Dijk landed at the feet of Mawson who swept the ball home for his sixth league goal this season.
A summary of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
Manchester United and Chelsea pulled ahead of Arsenal while Liverpool dropped out of the running in the race for the Premier League title.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Darwin Nunez came off the bench to score twice as Liverpool snatched a sensational 2-1 Premier League win at Newcastle United on Sunday.
Arsenal launched their bid for a first Premier League crown in five years with a comfortable 1-0 win over promoted West Bromwich Albion on the opening day of the season on Saturday. Liverpool, who have their eyes on a first title since 1990, also got off to a winning start by beating Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light with a late goal from Fernando Torres.
Virgil van Dijk made a dream start to his Anfield career, scoring the winning goal on his debut for Liverpool, as they beat city rivals Everton 2-1 in a pulsating FA Cup third round tie on Friday.
Images from Saturday's action in the English Premier League.
Manchester City now need, at most, 11 points from their remaining seven matches to secure their third Premier League title in four seasons.
Arsenal's new manager Unai Emery faces a baptism of fire after the Gunners were handed an opening day fixture at home to Premier League champions Manchester City.
Danny Murphy converted a second-half penalty to give Liverpool a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford.
Goals from Peter Crouch, Steven Gerrard and Dick Kuyt gave them a 3-0 victory in the EPL.
Striker Peter Crouch celebrated his 26th birthday by scoring Liverpool's winner in a 2-1 victory at West Ham United that put his side in the thick of the title race.
Manchester United have agreed a British record transfer fee of 59.7 million pounds ($99 million) to secure Angel di Maria from Real Madrid and are set to announce his transfer officially on Tuesday, British media reported.
Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford returned to full training after a recent shoulder operation and should be available after the international break, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said.
Reactions to Liverpool's Premier League triumph, their first league title since 1990:
Wolves took the lead a minute later when Rayan Ait-Nouri's cross found Sarabia poorly marked in the middle of the box. The Spain international headed past Grbic to score his third goal in the campaign.
An extra-time goal from Roberto Firmino gave Liverpool a 1-0 victory over Brazil's Flamengo to win the Club World Cup at the Khalifa International stadium on Saturday. It is the first time Liverpool have won the competition, which features each continent's champions, and they became only the second English team to lift the trophy after Manchester United in 2008.
Everton have filed an appeal against their 10-point deduction by the Premier League, the club said on Friday.
Manchester City thrashed West Ham United 4-1 in the Premier League on Saturday to claim their first back-to-back wins since October.
