Chelsea, Liverpool drop back

LONDON – Avram Grant is confident Chelsea has not been left behind in the English Premier League race.

It’s looking a lot harder for Liverpool to be so optimistic. Both sides lost to fellow ‘Big Four’ rivals on Sunday when Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-0 to end a three-year winless streak against its London rival, and Manchester United edged Liverpool by the same score at Anfield.Arsenal leads United in the standings by one point, but Chelsea now trails the Gunners by six points after its second loss against one of the league’s four giants this season.”In these two games, we could have got more than we got, but I think if we continue like this, it will be OK for us,” said Grant, whose first league match as Chelsea manager was a 2-0 loss at Old Trafford.”The gap is six points and at this time of the season it’s not the end of the world, so we can do it.It will not be easy, but it’s possible.”The gap grew bigger for Liverpool, which is 10 points behind Arsenal.Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez who also had to contend with clear-the-air talks with American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr.over transfers on Sunday said it was too soon to talk about the league title.”For me it is a long way,” Benitez said.”It will be harder clearly.You need to be winning games in a row if you want to be closer.This year all the teams can lose points so you can just think about the next game.”There’s little time for either side to mull over the defeats as Chelsea hosts Liverpool midweek in the League Cup quarterfinals.Arsenal is also in League Cup action, traveling to Blackburn on Tuesday and likely to continue its trend of fielding second-string players in the tournament.Manchester United was ousted from English soccer’s second-tier club competition in the third round in September.Chelsea drew 1-1 at Liverpool in the league in August.The Reds have yet to defeat any of their three major rivals.Defending champion Manchester United has fared the best so far in matchups among the ‘Big Four,’ having beaten Chelsea and Liverpool and drawn with Arsenal.The Gunners drew with Liverpool at Anfield but there are still the return legs of the league matchups to be played.Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, whose side has not won the league since 2004, is not discounting Chelsea or Liverpool.”Maybe Liverpool had the biggest disappointment of the day because they played at home,” Wenger said.”But they are not out of it, nor is Chelsea because they have shown again …they have the quality.”However Alex Ferguson, who has been in charge of Man United since 1986 and won nine Premier League titles, knows the significance of Sunday’s results.”Any gap is a significant one in December,” Ferguson said.”I always think it is important once you get to the end of the month to be up there.”If we are around the top on Jan.1 we will have a real chance of winning the league and we will also know who our challengers are going to be.”Wenger prefers the ‘Big Four’ are all in contention for as long as possible.”We are confident,” Wenger said.”The belief is there but I prefer that it remains a four-horse race because it is more interesting.As long as there are four teams in it the interest in the Premier League is even bigger.”Both sides lost to fellow ‘Big Four’ rivals on Sunday when Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-0 to end a three-year winless streak against its London rival, and Manchester United edged Liverpool by the same score at Anfield.Arsenal leads United in the standings by one point, but Chelsea now trails the Gunners by six points after its second loss against one of the league’s four giants this season.”In these two games, we could have got more than we got, but I think if we continue like this, it will be OK for us,” said Grant, whose first league match as Chelsea manager was a 2-0 loss at Old Trafford.”The gap is six points and at this time of the season it’s not the end of the world, so we can do it.It will not be easy, but it’s possible.”The gap grew bigger for Liverpool, which is 10 points behind Arsenal.Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez who also had to contend with clear-the-air talks with American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr.over transfers on Sunday said it was too soon to talk about the league title.”For me it is a long way,” Benitez said.”It will be harder clearly.You need to be winning games in a row if you want to be closer.This year all the teams can lose points so you can just think about the next game.”There’s little time for either side to mull over the defeats as Chelsea hosts Liverpool midweek in the League Cup quarterfinals.Arsenal is also in League Cup action, traveling to Blackburn on Tuesday and likely to continue its trend of fielding second-string players in the tournament.Manchester United was ousted from English soccer’s second-tier club competition in the third round in September.Chelsea drew 1-1 at Liverpool in the league in August.The Reds have yet to defeat any of their three major rivals.Defending champion Manchester United has fared the best so far in matchups among the ‘Big Four,’ having beaten Chelsea and Liverpool and drawn with Arsenal.The Gunners drew with Liverpool at Anfield but there are still the return legs of the league matchups to be played.Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, whose side has not won the league since 2004, is not discounting Chelsea or Liverpool.”Maybe Liverpool had the biggest disappointment of the day because they played at home,” Wenger said.”But they are not out of it, nor is Chelsea because they have shown again …they have the quality.”However Alex Ferguson, who has been in charge of Man United since 1986 and won nine Premier League titles, knows the significance of Sunday’s results.”Any gap is a significant one in December,” Ferguson said.”I always think it is important once you get to the end of the month to be up there.”If we are around the top on Jan.1 we will have a real chance of winning the league and we will also know who our challengers are going to be.”Wenger prefers the ‘Big Four’ are all in contention for as long as possible.”We are confident,” Wenger said.”The belief is there but I prefer that it remains a four-horse race because it is more interesting.As long as there are four teams in it the interest in the Premier League is even bigger.”