The race for the Premiership title hotted up 越来越激烈 this weekend as Liverpool demolished¹ 沉重击败 Manchester United 4-1 at Old Trafford.

Wins for Chelsea and Arsenal² saw both London sides also close the gap 比分接近/拉近距离 on the title holders³ 头衔持有者.

Manchester United now have a lead of only four points at the top of the table, although they have one more game to play than their rivals 竞争对手.

Speculation⁴ 揣测 in the media is rife⁵ 广泛流传 that Manchester United could be cracking 败阵 under the pressure, and that their manager Sir Alex Ferguson is feeling the strain 压力.

Cracks 裂痕 have started to appear in the Manchester defence – once thought of as virtually impregnable 几乎是坚不可摧的.

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez believes that his team’s massive victory will inspire 激励 other sides to believe they can beat Ferguson’s players.

"We have shown the way. United have been playing with so much confidence. At least people will now see that they can lose," said Benitez.

Benitez’s opinions were echoed 认同（某人的观点） by Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink, whose team are also just four points behind the leaders, after winning 1-0 at Manchester City.

"When you are in the driver's seat 处于主导地位 and someone else is coming, you can get a little bit nervous. It is a little bit open now," said Hiddink, meaning that sometimes leading the race is the most nerve-wracking 令人感到极度紧张的 place to be.

Both Benitez and Hiddink think that the increased pressure on United will benefit fans of English football.

"If we want to track 跟踪/追赶 them, we have to keep on winning," said Hiddink, "that will give tension to the end of the season, which is good for everyone."

However, it would be unwise 不明智的 to write off 排除 Manchester United just yet, as Sir Alex has promised his team will come back fighting.

"It is a hard one to take because I thought we were the better team and the score does not reflect that," said Ferguson.

"Now the thing is to respond 做出回应. It always is at this club - you lose a game and you respond. We always do," he continued.

With just nine or ten matches left for the teams to play, it looks like an exciting finish to the season is well on the cards 可能发生的.