Benitez knows importance of win

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has defended criticism of his team after they only slenderly beat Hungarian Champions Debrecen 1-0 at Anfield last night.

Liverpool 1-0 Debrecen: Dirk on target

Dirk Kuyt got the only goal of the game as the Reds got their Champions League campaign off to a winning start.

However critics have suggested that the Reds should have beaten the visitors by more goals.

But Benitez says he is simply happy with the victory – Liverpool’s third in a row.

“This was always a dangerous game because before people were talking about us maybe scoring eight goals or something like this,” he said.

“But we knew that in Europe it is not easy, especially at this level.

“They have won their league four times in the last five seasons because they have some quality so it was important just to get three points.

“It was important just to win and now we can approach the next game with more confidence.

“We are winning games in a row now so hopefully confidence in the dressing room will be higher.”