Benitez wary despite pulling clear of rivals

Rafa Benitez remained cautious of Liverpool's Champions League qualification hopes despite tightening their grip on fourth place with a 1-0 derby win over nearest rivals Everton on Sunday.

Spain striker Fernando Torres scored his 21st league goal of the season to pull the home side five points clear of their neighbours on 62 points with six matches remaining. "It's a good position to be in," the Liverpool manager told a news conference. "But we have a difficult game coming up at Arsenal and Everton will play Derby next week."

Benitez also praised Torres who equalled a club record for consecutive home goals to join Fred Pagnam , Roger Hunt as the only players to score in six successive games at Anfield.

"We had a lot of confidence in Fernando," he said. "But to score 28 goals and 21 in the league is not easy for anyone, especially for a player coming from a foreign country. "He has exceeded our expectations and we are pleased for him."

Everton manager David Moyes accepted his side were second best but has not lost hope that they can still clinch the final qualifying spot for Europe's showpiece event. "What was disappointing for us was we didn't create too many chances. We lacked penetration and we needed better movement up front," he said.

"The five-point advantage at this stage of the season is a good advantage. We have teams four or five points behind us as well and we are looking over our shoulders, so I would think the teams above us are thinking the same thing."(source:yahoo/afp)