Manchester United and Liverpool avoided each other in the draw for the final stages of the Champions League yesterday, but still ended up in a war of words.

This weekend the clubs resume their dispute in the Barclays Premier League after Liverpool’s stunning 4-1 victory at Old Trafford last Saturday, but yesterday it was the spending of both clubs that was at the heart of the latest spat between Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafael Benítez.

“They [Liverpool] are well ahead of us in spending in the last five years,” Ferguson, the United manager, said, insisting that Liverpool had outspent United by £24 million during Benítez’s 5½-year tenure.

But the statistics did not appear to back up Ferguson. United’s gross outlay is recorded at £221.95 million compared with Liverpool’s £212.6 million. The net spending shows an even bigger gulf. “Check the figures,” Benítez said.

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The two clubs could yet end up in a tumultuous Champions League final after a draw that put them in opposite halves. United, who face Porto in the last eight and perhaps Arsenal in the semi-finals, will look on their route to Rome with optimism, but, to groans from both sets of supporters, Liverpool and Chelsea will collide in Europe for a record fifth consecutive season.

The draw raised the possibility of a second all-English denouement that will heighten fears about the safety of visiting supporters after numerous stabbing incidents in Rome. But Uefa, which has resisted calls to move the game, revealed yesterday that 20,000 police officers would be on duty in the Italian capital on May 27. There would normally be 1,000 for a regular European game at the Stadio Olimpico.

Champions League draw

Quarter-finals
Villarreal v Arsenal
Manchester United v Porto
Liverpool v Chelsea
Barcelona v Bayern Munich

Semi-finals
Manchester United or Porto v Villarreal or Arsenal
Barcelona or Bayern Munich v Liverpool or Chelsea