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Title Pressure is on Liverpool, Says Mourinho

Jose Mourinho insisted that the pressure will be on Manchester United and, in particular, Liverpool to deliver in the campaign ahead as he reflected on a summer of lavish spending by his leading Premier League rivals and braced himself for a quintet of clubs to challenge for the title.

Chelsea continue their pre-season build-up with a friendly against Feyenoord in Rotterdam tonight having added four players to the first-team squad, only one of whom commanded a fee, the £13.6m winger Florent Malouda. That approach contrasts starkly with the near-£50m spent to date by both United and Liverpool and, while he conceded Sir Alex Ferguson's options have been bolstered, Mourinho risked aggravating his already strained relationship with Rafael Benítez by claiming the onus will be on the Spaniard to secure the Merseysiders' first league championship since 1990.

"Everybody wants that pressure because, when you have, it means you have real chances of succeeding. But you could say the pressure is a bit higher [on Liverpool] because, at this moment, they cannot point at other people," said Mourinho. "In other years they could say: 'Oh, these guys, they've spent a lot of money so they have to win.' This season they have to talk differently. They have high responsibilities and high expectations.

"In the last three years it's been Chelsea and Manchester United in the league, and it's been a long time since Liverpool won the Premiership. So they really want it. I heard something earlier this summer - [Steven] Gerrard, [Jamie] Carragher and [John Arne] Riise saying it has to be this season. That's normal, and positive. I cannot complain about that. Everybody wants to achieve it. We want it too, no problem. But it's been four years with Benítez and they want the Premiership. They don't hide it - Benítez, the players, they all speak about winning the title. I think winning nothing last season was frustrating for them, but they've got a good squad and good players, so they'll be better."

Mourinho backed his own players to regain the title, but he conceded that Tottenham could yet prove their pedigree and mount a sustained assault on the league. "It's just a personal opinion," he said, "but they have more players in the England team's squad than anybody else: [Paul] Robinson, [Ledley] King, [Michael] Dawson, [Aaron] Lennon, [Jermain] Defoe, [Darren] Bent, they're a very good group of players. They've spent money and kept all the important players, even Dimitar Berbatov, who everyone thought would leave. And they will be without pressure, so they should be there, creating a difficult situation for us.

"It is the same with Arsenal. There is no Thierry [Henry], but they were almost without him last season, too, and they have very, very good young players who they can mix with their important experienced players. Not many people expect them to do it, and that could be in their favor. They will see what happens but I think, in the back of their minds, they will believe [they can achieve something].

"Manchester United have kept the same first-team, basically, and have more options now with Nani, Anderson and Owen Hargreaves. If Carlos Tevez goes there, he's another good player for them. They've done their work well this summer. They had money to spend, and they spent it. I know when Chelsea were spending lots of money everybody was jumping. I don't jump because other people spend. They can do what they want with their money. They are contenders for the title, of course, but I still believe Chelsea have the best players in the world."

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