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Mourinho puts his job on line by dropping Shevchenko

It is the row that could tear Chelsea apart ahead of the biggest game of their season. Jose Mourinho and Andrei Shevchenko have fallen out over the Chelsea manager's decision to drop the £31m striker from tonight's Champions League semi-final second leg match against Liverpool and Shevchenko will not even be on the bench.

The repercussions for Mourinho's relationship with Roman Abramovich over Shevchenko are likely to be serious, but in the meantime the manager is understood to have the full backing of the other senior players in his squad. Shevchenko became aware on Sunday morning that he was not part of Mourinho's first XI plans for tonight and reported yesterday at their Cobham training ground with what the club have officially described as a groin strain.

As a result, there is understood to be serious disillusionment with Shevchenko among the rest of the Chelsea players. They know that by leaving out the Ukrainian for tonight's game, Mourinho is risking the long-term security of his recent peace deal with Abramovich. That Shevchenko has subsequently not travelled has heightened tensions between the striker and his team-mates, who believe he should be with them regardless of whether he is injured.

Shevchenko was not at the training session at Anfield yesterday evening. Mourinho's decision to drop him may go right to the heart of the club's politics but it would certainly be justified by recent form. There was no outcry when the player was substituted at half-time against Bolton on Saturday, after a half in which he had barely made an impression.

However, it is unlikely that Abramovich will see it that way. The treatment of Shevchenko by Mourinho has been a major sticking point between the Russian billionaire and his manager and this latest episode seems to have the potential to cause another serious rift between the two men. It is not even clear whether Abramovich will be at Anfield tonight, especially after he learns what has taken place in the last two days.

Shevchenko is not the only player that Mourinho has fallen out with over the last week: he is also understood to be furious with Michael Ballack for going ahead with ankle surgery in Munich. Mourinho wanted the player to play on until the end of the season with his side in an injury crisis but now the German has risked his manager's wrath by independently deciding to have the operation.

Arjen Robben is back in the squad tonight for the first time since 19 March.

Without Shevchenko, it is expected that Mourinho, whose side lead 1-0 from the first leg, will now start with Salomon Kalou in his forward line, as well as Didier Drogba and Joe Cole. Ricardo Carvalho, the Chelsea manager insisted, will not be fit despite the Chelsea medical team's huge effort to get him ready. It was telling that in his press conference yesterday, Mourinho did not even mention Shevchenko or the notion that he was injured. While Shevchenko was not discussed, Mourinho was in one of his more sullen moods yesterday although the same could not be said of Rafael Benitez who, uncharacteristically went on the attack against the Chelsea manager. Mocking Mourinho's injury worries he also said that the decision by the Portuguese to rest key players against Bolton on Saturday had "cost" him his chance of the Premiership title.

"Carvalho's loss is not a big difference for them," Benitez said. "They have Essien as an option. Who is better, Carvalho or Essien? In January [when Essien played], I think they didn't have 'the best defender in the world'. That was Terry. Now they 'don't have the best defender in the world'. That is Carvalho. Each time they have some problems.

"People talk about Benitez against Mourinho, but you cannot change things from the bench if the players don't perform. They are the key. The managers can talk, but they cannot score. I prefer not to talk about these things because we will not change the personality of the other person. I prefer to talk about the players. They will be the stars."

There was a certain edginess between the two men about the choice of tonight's Spanish referee, Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez, who, ironically, also took charge of Liverpool's win over Milan in the 2005 final as well as the comeback against Olympiakos in the same competition. Benitez played down the significance of having a compatriot as the referee - "We can change the referee if you want and have a Portuguese one," he said, "it's not a problem".

Mourinho sounded as if he would like a bigger say on the choice of referee but reined himself in. "I can't imagine what you'd say if he was Portuguese," he said, "but he is a top referee and I prefer a top Spanish referee than a bad referee from another nationality".

The atmosphere at Anfield will also play its part tonight although Mourinho dismissed any negative effect it might have on his players. "I can't see players like [Claude] Makelele not sleeping tonight because of that," he said. "Everyone wants to play in a great atmosphere."

Benitez even joked that "only our supporters can score goals" in reference to Mourinho's claim that Luis Garcia's controversial semi-final winner two years ago was only given because of the roar of the Kop. But he added that the fans would be crucial. "If you know the history of our club, you don't need to say anything else. Our fans will have the last word. It's easier for me. I don't need to give a team talk now."

On Mourinho he finished with a Spanish phrase: "'No ofende quien quiere sino quien puede' means 'you can talk, but you cannot offend me'. Our supporters will be more focused and more behind their team. It's not the club. It's one person [Mourinho] talking. I have a lot of respect for their club, but this is one person talking."

Mourinho said that his opponents would be "Peter Crouch plus 10" with the emphasis on attack if they were to overturn the one-goal lead and take advantage of Essien's unfamiliarity with the centre-back position. As for Abramovich's feelings? "He will be very proud because a team with so many problems is surviving in May with so much to play for," Mourinho said.

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No Shevchenko, Ballack and Carvalho for Chelsea tonight. If Liverpool still can't win tonight then their season is totally fucked!