The Spaniard reckons the London derby at Stamford Bridge will be like a final for the two rivals, who are both vying for a top-four finish.
His Europa League finalists were given a huge boost yesterday as Juan Mata’s late shot was deflected in off Phil Jones and a post to down Manchester United.And it means a midweek Blues win over old boss Andre Villas-Boas will guarantee whoever replaces Benitez will be mixing with Europe’s elite again next term.
Benitez said: “It’s an important win. We knew we needed to win a couple of games and this is the first one.
“The goal difference is big for us so if we can beat Tottenham on Wednesday, we will be in the top four with two games left to play.
“But it will be like a final for both clubs. It’s a big game and should be a great atmosphere.
“We will try to win because we know we can guarantee a top-four place. I don’t see more or less pressure for one team.”
Yesterday’s game at Old Trafford looked to be heading for an uninspiring goalless draw until Mata’s late intervention.And former Liverpool boss Benitez hopes it will be crucial.
He added: “It’s massive for us, because we knew we needed to get six or seven points to guarantee the top four and hopefully we can stay there until the end. It was an important step forward.” If he can do that, it will be a case of job done for the interim boss who is set to make way for a new manager at the end of the current campaign.
He said: “I have to do my job until the end of the season and I’ll focus on that. I came here and was certain we could do really well.
“We could be closer to United but, with a team in transition, we need to settle down. Given all the circumstances, we are OK.
“Next year these players will have more experience and I’m sure the owner will spend some money and we will be better.”
Chelsea goal hero Mata, meanwhile, had no doubt about how significant this result could be when the league finishes in two weeks’ time.He said: “It was a very important victory. Playing against Manchester United and Tottenham were two big games in a week for us.
“We got a win here and if we can get a win on Wednesday it will help.
“Both teams played a bit slowly.For the goal I just tried to shoot, aim for the second post and the most important thing was that it was a goal.”
Blues keeper Petr Cech added: “It was a massive moment. After the results on Saturday, we knew we had to win and we have a massive game against Spurs now.
“Now we go into the game three points ahead of them and if we win that game we leave them behind, so this was a massive moment and changed the preparation for Wednesday.”
It was a good time for Chelsea to meet United, who struggled to hit top gear after clinching the league title two weeks ago.
United boss Alex Ferguson gave the likes of Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney a rest — but the replacements failed to take their chance.
He said: “I am disappointed. It looked like we’d put the tools away.
“We needed to give Tom Cleverley, Anderson and Anders Lindegaard a game.
“But there was no edge to our game. Chelsea were the better team. Is it because the job is done? I think so. That has a lot to do with it.
“It has been a long season. The final big effort was last week against Arsenal. Today, the edge to the game was off.”
Ferguson’s men still have two games to play and the manager admitted he was not expecting such a flat display from this team — who failed to score at home in the league for the first time in 57 matches.
He said: “There is an expectation all the time with Manchester United, you have to realise that.
“There are no easy games. Our training was fine this week, there was a nice edge to it but today it was missing. Maybe this will wake them up.”
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