Winning name of the game for defiant Benitez

MANAGER Rafael Benitez emerged from the prospect of an embarrassing 1-1 draw at Derby to see Liverpool’s title ambitions improve.

And the Liverpool boss is unmoved by the good fortune that saw captain Steven Gerrard claim a winner in the last few seconds to secure a victory at Pride Park that had not looked like coming.

But with Arsenal and Chelsea both drawing, Benitez knows his team have inched closer to their own unlikely dream as they are now nine points behind leaders Manchester United with a match in hand.

Said Benitez: “I cannot be disappointed with another three points, I am really pleased. People forget in football the days when you play really well and get nothing.

“We were the best team in the first half, we were the best team at the end. In three months’ time nobody will remember, nobody will talk of how we got those points, they will just see the result.

“We have been unfortunate against Chelsea at home, and Arsenal, and did not win. These points are won now and we are a little bit closer.

“We have two more games over the holiday period. The most important thing for me is that we stay close.

“The question for me is to be as close as possible and we still have one game in hand. You never know what can happen.”

Benitez must now cope with the likely loss of defender Sami Hyypia for a spell with a twisted ankle, the one position he does not have sufficient cover for.

“The second half was not the best for us but for me, the key was winning three points and we were controlling the game for long spells,” he added.

“If we had scored a second it would have been impossible for them. We lost Sami Hyypia and had players returning from injury who were not 100% fit, those are some of the reasons for what happened in the second period.

“But we put ourselves under pressure by giving the ball away.”

Meanwhile midfielder Xabi Alonso believes he and his team-mates must learn from their narrow escape.

Alonso, who made his first league start for two months, said: “We should have scored and killed the game.

“We should have kept the ball better and not let them have so many chances.

“We must not allow ourselves to be in that position again because we had chances to win the game. We have to learn and not repeat what happened at Derby again.”

Alonso has made just eight appearances this season after a double metatarsal blow, and admits it has been a frustrating few months.

“When you are on the sidelines and injured, just watching, it is frustrating, but I am back now and looking forward to the next games.”