Benitez: 'It's a victory for the team'

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez celebrated a superb team performance as the Reds booked a Champions League quarter-final place with a 3-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in Germany for a 6-2 aggregate win.

Luis Garcia’s first-half double and a third from lone striker Milan Baros was no less than Liverpool deserved as they played a canny game to frustrate the German side and hit them on the break.

Jacek Krzynowek scored a late goal for the hosts but it was mere consolation for Leverkusen.

And Benitez told Sky Sports: “It was a good first half and after Luis Garcia scored we played comfortably.

“We made it very difficult for them and at the end we saved some players with yellow cards like (Dietmar) Hamann and Carra (Jamie Carragher). It was a good game for us.

“We have done a good job as a team and worked hard together. We stayed very compact and made it difficult for them to score.”

Captain Steven Gerrard insisted the Reds fully deserved to win after revealing they had executed their gameplan perfectly.

He continued on Sky Sports News: “We knew we could punish them on the counter. That is what we planned to do – we had seen the videos.

“We played well, the best we played for a while.

“That was the gameplan – we never came here for a draw or a 1-0 defeat.

“We came to win the match and credit to the players – they deserved the win.”

While Liverpool have been stuttering in the Barclays Premiership, Gerrard believes their form in the Champions League could be beneficial and spur them on.

He said: “We have got 10 games left in the league and a quarter-final so there is still a bit to play for so hopefully we can make the fans something to shout about.”