Wayne Rooney has called on Liverpool to do Manchester United an unlikely favor in the title race run-in, The Times reported Tuesday.
The forward believes that the Merseyside club must live up to their illustrious reputation by doing everything in their power to defeat Chelsea at Anfield on Sunday and dent the West London club’s hopes of winning the Barclays Premier League.
United head into this weekend’s fixtures a point behind Chelsea, knowing that they need their title rivals to drop points in at least one of their two remaining fixtures -- away to Liverpool and at home to Wigan Athletic on Sunday week -- if they are to claim an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title.
The run-in has been given added spice because United are bidding to become England’s most successful title-winning club, overtaking Liverpool in the process, as they look to be crowned champions for a nineteenth time.
Rooney, a boyhood Everton fan who is anything but popular on the Kop, has now appealed to the Anfield club to take the battle to Chelsea, imploring them to play for their own pride and a place in the Europa League next season.
“I’m enjoying the title race,” Rooney, the United and England striker, said. “We need Chelsea to slip up now so hopefully Liverpool or Wigan can do us a favor.
“Liverpool are a proud club with a lot of history and I’m sure they’ll want to win that game as they’re fighting for the Europa League. We just have to try and win our last two games. If Liverpool or Wigan can help us out, we’ll be happy.”
Rafael Benitez has made it clear that he is targeting nothing other than victory when Chelsea visit Anfield. The Liverpool manager knows that only three points will give his team any chance of snatching fourth place and maintaining their status as a Champions League club.
