The Liverpool boss was pleased with Fernando Torres coming on and scoring the winner against Wigan last night, despite still feeling the effects of the last game against Arsenal.

“It was a fantastic achievement for him,” Benitez said. “He was tired after the last game, so I told him if I don’t play you it would be good. But at the end, I had to play him and that worked out well too.”

But it was the three points that mattered, no matter the quality of the win.

“It was very important to win and get the three points,” he said. “There were a lot of positives. We knew that we had to win and it doesn’t matter about whether we could score more goals. Maybe we could have been more relaxed in the second-half but at end of the day three points was the key.

“It was important for everyone to get the three points. We can now relax and be ready for the next game. We will think about one game at a time and we will now look towards Portsmouth.

“We have spoken about winning games in a row. We have now won one and must look to the next game. We want the chance to talk about winning three games in a row, but first we must win the second one.

“In a top side it is always difficult because normally you have to win trophies. This is one of the biggest clubs in the world and people talk about having to win. It is normal. I’d rather that than just looking to survive.”

David Ngog scored his sixth goal of the season, but Benitez admitted that he would be relegated to the bench when Torres returns to the starting line-up against Portsmouth this weekend.

“Ngog is improving. He had another chance with his left foot that could have led to a second goal but he is doing really well. You can see he is another option for us. If Torres cannot play, he can start and if Fernando can play, he can be a substitute.

“We have some players who need to play games and improve match fitness. It depends on each game. Fernando can play against Portsmouth. Gerrard is also playing games in a row and Aquilani had some minutes – it is very positive. We will see if we can keep everyone fit.”