Once again, I am taking a quotation from Ghana’s former Director of Sports, the inimitable Ohene Djan who said that “without shocks, surprises and inconsistencies, football will cease to be an attraction”. The 4-1 defeat of Manchester United by Liverpool at Old Trafford of all places confirms the late Ohene Djan’s theory.

Of course the English Premiership is full of surprises which should be good for the pools but the margin of victory must have surprised Liverpool themselves. Ironically, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez regards the goal margin as some kind of a fulfillment of an oracle following their 4-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions’ League early in the week.

Hear him “if we have beaten Real Madrid and Man United, we can beat anybody to win the cup”, a statement that prompted my colleague Ebo Quansah who is a Manchester United supporter to remark that Benitez thinks the league has just begun. With seven games to go, Man United top the charts with a gap of four points and one match outstanding.

With Alex Ferguson’s assuring words of a speedy recovery from this setback, United fans still have confidence in the team’s ability to retain the trophy in the long run. “You lose a game and you respond. It always is at this club. We always do”, he told the media after United’s heaviest defeat at the hands of Liverpool since 1936, that is 50 years before Ferguson became manager of United.

Talking of heavy defeats brings to mind Arsenal’s 4-0 thumping of Blackburn. It looks as if the title chasers have suddenly found their scoring prowess that appeared to have deserted them in the past and from all indications the Premiership will see an exciting finish.

As if by design, the four title chasers Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal are all in the last eight of the Champions’ League and the necromancers are predicting a Liverpool v United quarter final berth.

What a mouthwatering pairing that would be.