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Rafa hails hard-working Reds

19 Mar 2010 - 08:23:32

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Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez believes Fernando Torres still has room for improvement after watching the Spain international score twice in Thursday's 3-0 Europa League victory against Lille.

After last week's 1-0 first-leg defeat in France, Steven Gerrard brought the tie level on aggregate with an early penalty before Torres confirmed the Reds' place in Friday's quarter-final draw with a second-half brace to bring his goal tally in an injury-ravaged campaign to 17.

Former Valencia coach Benitez said after the match: "Torres has been working very hard with the physios and the fitness coach. I'm really pleased because you can see he is fit, but I still believe he can improve.

"You can see there is a big difference when he plays well and it is the same with Gerrard too. It helps the rest of the team to play better. I would like to say he is 50 per cent, fit, but, he is close. Match-fitness is about playing games and if he can rest it will be good. He is very close now.

"Clearly, Lille are a good team. They have quality and pace. They are really dangerous. We needed to score the third goal and after that we could relax. You could see the players working hard, the fans were pushing and supporting the team, so it was a good night to enjoy.

"The players are working very hard and stuck together. There is a big difference when they have confidence. They can play better and it's easier for me. It's easier for them too because they can enjoy the day after.

"Everyone could see we didn't play well against Wigan but I could see the reaction from the players. The next games we did better. I said in Lille that we did well. We conceded a late goal and people said it was not a good performance.

"The attitude was good, but then we played some good football against Portsmouth. I think we did both today and it was fantastic from the players."