Monday Night Football is following a very defined template of late: the first and last hours are fantastic, with a lull in the middle while the actual match is on. Last night was no different, as Everton and Swansea had the temerity to interrupt some great television with Jamie Carragher and John Terry.
It was impressive to see just how resolutely Terry still defends Chelsea: having showered Manchester City in praise, Terry was asked if his 04-06 Chelsea team could beat them. Yes, was the staunch, unequivocal response.
After the game, Carragher and Terry reconvened on the topic of the fierce Chelsea/Liverpool rivalry, renowned as one of the most intense yet boring rivalries of the noughties in European football.
It began when Rafa Benitez and Jose Mourinho arrived in English football as the two brightest coaches from the continent, and reached its apogee in European Cup semi-finals in 2005 and 2007.
Neither manager particularly liked each other, as Carragher elucidated on the show when asked what Benitez would say behind the scenes ahead of meetings with Chelsea.
When Mourinho came in, he lit the Premier League up with his press conferences. Rafa was completely different, he wouldn't say much.
I think his quote was, 'Abramovich is the Special One'.
He saw Mourinho as his equal.
The managers never got on, they never liked eachother.
The full conversation about the Rafa Benitez and Jose Mourinho rivalry is must-watch stuff for Liverpool and Chelsea fans.
