Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has said he is proud at the way his side held off a strong fight from West Brom today to earn three points, secure 2nd place in the league and finish with the club’s highest ever points tally in the Premier League.

Talking about the second half bust-up between Jamie Carragher and Alvaro Arbeloa, Benitez said the situation showed a great mentality to keep a clean sheet and win the game, even though the title is now out of reach.

He told press, “You could see Carragher and Arbeloa because we wanted a clean sheet and they were a little bit nervous. I don’t like what I saw, but I am trying to see the positive side of things.

“Arbeloa was going forward and then we had some problems in defence. We wanted to protect Pepe Reina because now I think he has 20 clean sheets – van der Sar has 21.

“It’s a positive message in terms of the mentality of the team. We wanted to show character and a winning mentality.”