Benitez salutes character as Liverpool seal place in last 16

LIVERPOOL manager Rafael Benitez was pleased with the character shown by his side in their 3-1 victory over Unirea Urziceni in Romania last night, a victory which sealed a 4-1 aggregate win and a place in the last 16 of the Europa League.

Shaky defending from set-pieces in the first half saw them fall behind to Bruno Fernandes’ header in the 19th minute and for a while they looked rattled.

However, goals from Javier Mascherano from long range and Ryan Babel from close in turned things around before the interval and Steven Gerrard’s 33rd European goal after the break ensured any potential embarrassment was avoided.