Liverpool win gives Benitez a boost

LIVERPOOL manager Rafael Benitez believes his side took a "big step for the future" with their comeback victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage.

The win will have given a gentle rebuff to critics of the new-look Reds, including television pundit and former Liverpool defender Alan Hansen, who described them as the "worst Liverpool side he could remember".

They lived up to that description early on, trailing sheepishly to a pair of Luis Boa Morte goals at half-time. But in what was truly a game of two halves, substitute Xabi Alonso, Benitez's £10m signing from Real Sociedad, transformed an astonishing contest with a masterclass midfield display and a stunning, match-winning free-kick.