Liverpool a better team than Everton, says Benitez

RAFAEL BENITEZ last night claimed Liverpool are a better team than Everton and insisted they can catch their Mersey rivals in the race for Champions League qualification.

Everton are fourth, seven points ahead of Liverpool who can close the gap to four points if they beat Fulham at Anfield today.

With Everton not playing until Sunday at Southampton, a Liverpool victory will put pressure on David Moyes’s men. The battle is set to reach boiling point during the final 13 games of the season, with the March 20 Mersey derby at Anfield a match that could be worth £20million in European cash.

Benitez said: “We are better than Everton. In my opinion we have a better team and better players.

“But they are having a very good season and they are working very hard and winning lots of games because they have a great team spirit. But I still think we are a better team.”

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has also supported his manager’s view, claiming this week: “We can reel them back in. We’re a better side than Everton. If we put a run together and beat them at Anfield I am sure we can finish above them.

“We are fighting for fourth spot and every league fixture between now and the end of the season is going to be a must-win game. We can’t afford to lose any more ground on Everton.”

Benitez, who will have Dietmar Hamann and Antonio Nunez returning from suspension against Fulham, will for the second time in a week be playing a day earlier than Everton.

The manager added: “We try to only think about the next game and try not to worry about other teams. People keep asking me whether I am watching the other games or the fixtures of opponents.

“I say, no. The most important thing is to work with your own team to improve your level and confidence.

“If you can reduce the gap now, great. But if it means we are still trying to close the gap in the last month, we will keep trying. We will fight right to the end to achieve what we want. I have not seen Everton’s midweek game. I saw the result and said ‘okay, they’ve won, nothing more.’ It is then for me to concentrate on our next game.”

He added: “If we win before Everton play, then it is an advantage, if not then it becomes a problem. But it is not important for us to worry about when they play or what they do.

“It is not only important to win but it matters how you win. Against Watford and Charlton we have produced very good performances, and that means we can say to the players ‘look, you can see how you have played, now do it again.’

“We sat down and discussed all the things we were doing badly, so when we went to Watford for the Carling Cup and then Charlton, we were confident. We changed the role of some players, and we have recovered our confidence and shown the right mentality.

“We stopped our opponents getting into our box and shooting. That is what has pleased me more than anything.”