It is absolutely staggering that Aston Villa have dropped Darren Bent from their first-team squad and I think bigger clubs than Villa will be in for him when the transfer window opens. Teams like Liverpool, Everton or Arsenal would be delighted to have a goalscorer of his calibre.

There has been speculation Bent is a January target for Brendan Rodgers and I think he would be a fine addition to the Liverpool squad. They rely far too heavily on the goals of Luis Suarez so having someone to share the burden would be beneficial, but Suarez also creates many chances as well and causes havoc in the

We knew what a tough job Rafa Benitez had ahead of him at Chelsea given everything that goes on at that club, but the hostile reception he received on Sunday has revealed the full extent of the challenge.

We sometimes hear before games that fans are going to turn on managers but you never actually think it is going to happen - especially when it is his first game in charge. But obviously we didn't quite realise how strong the feeling is among Chelsea fans - they genuinely do not like him.

It is assumed there will be a lot more fans who are there to support the team and club - and by that I

Rafa Benitez is exactly what Chelsea need in the short term.

He will get them organised after some shambolic defensive displays in recent weeks.

Players under Rafa always know their job and their role, even if they don't particularly like it.

Over the years, his Liverpool side produced some incredible performances away from home, especially in Europe.

They controlled the game even without the ball because they were so well-organised - for example the away legs against Juventus and Chelsea in the 2005 Champions League.

That's pretty much the exact opposite of Chelsea's performance at Juve on

There's no doubt that Chelsea are going through a difficult run of form but to talk about Roberto Di Matteo 'facing the sack', as some newspapers are doing on Monday morning, seems very premature.

Di Matteo has been tasked with overhauling the way Chelsea play and you have to give him the time to properly oversee such a big project. They have shown this year that they are not a million miles away from being a very exciting team. If they back him with a new striker in January then that will certainly help.

Chelsea won the Champions League last season playing an entirely different brand of

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's fourth goal against England was just incredible. Around 99 per cent of the players who have ever played the game wouldn't be able to pull it off. That's how difficult it is. It will go down as one of the greatest goals ever.

Ibrahimovic is particularly brilliant when it comes to volleys and half volleys but there are only a very small number of players who could even think of executing a goal like he scored against England on Wednesday night, never mind actually doing it successfully.

As well as the skill and the balance required to pull it off, you also have to consider

This weekend told you everything you needed to know about who is in contention for the Premier League title this season in what is already shaping up to be a two-horse race.

Both Manchester clubs have the required self-belief and confidence to produce crucial victories under pressure, often coming from behind to do so — those qualities are patently lacking in the other challengers.

The effect both City and United have on the opposition is key, because there never seems any doubt that they will somehow triumph, regardless of who they are playing in the league.

There is almost a sense of

Chelsea's downfall this season will be having Fernando Torres as the main striker, and an over-reliance on their other attacking players.

I do not fancy Chelsea to win the Premier League title this season, because I always felt that their season would hinge on whether Torres could score 20-plus goals, and that is not looking at all likely.

The striker should be pretty close to 10 goals already at this stage of the season, and he's not looking like a man capable of leading a team to the Premier League title in such a crucial position.

It is very unlikely that Chelsea will go out and spend big

I found it absolutely amazing that Andre Santos asked for Robin van Persie's shirt as the players walked off at half-time on Saturday. That act told you something important about the flawed mentality that exists in Arsenal's current squad.

It has been suggested that Santos wanted the shirt for a good cause, and if so then well done to him. But he could have waited until the end of the match. Failing that, there must have been a few players in the Arsenal dressing room with Van Persie's phone number. I can understand why you might want Van Persie's shirt, but at half time, on the pitch and in