Rafael Benitez feels Fernando Torres’s soaring confidence will help them achieve their goals this season.
The Spaniard has 24 goals in all competitions for Liverpool this season following last night’s hat-trick in the 4-0 demolition of West Ham.
It was Liverpool’s fourth win in five Premier League games since they lost away to the Hammers at the end of January and took them back into fourth place.
Torres, who shook off a bout of sickness to take part in the game, also scored three in the previous league game at Anfield, the 3-2 victory over Middlesbrough. And Benitez is convinced that his current form will help inspire his team-mates to qualification for the Champions League – and progress to the quarter-finals in this year’s competition.
“Torres is on fire and that is the difference because everyone has confidence that we will score,” said Benitez, whose side take a 2-0 first-leg lead to Inter Milan next week following Saturday’s home league game with Newcastle United.
“If he continues scoring he will always be a threat but if the defenders are thinking about him other players, like Ryan (Babel) or Stevie (Gerrard), can make an impact.“
And we are creating different situations now so you see different types of goals – that is his quality but it also says a lot about the quality of the players.”
The manager also feels that Liverpool are in their best form since the opening weeks of the campaign. They went above Everton into fourth on goal difference with last night’s win, which was their game in hand, and will go three points clear if they overcome Newcastle.
Their Merseyside rivals will then be the team with a game less, which will be played on Sunday at Sunderland, but Liverpool’s destiny is still in their own hands.
“We have confidence now,” added Benitez. “We started really well this season and played really well in some Champions League games but in this crucial period of the season we are playing well and with confidence.
“You could see the team working as a team and working hard and that is the difference for me.
“It’s important for us because we were talking about our one game in hand so when you see those three points in the table it’s much better for the confidence so it depends on us now.
“If we can beat Newcastle we can approach the game with Inter with a lot of confidence. But we have that now anyway because we are playing really well so that’s important for the rest of the season – but we must beat Newcastle on Saturday.”
Benitez revealed that he wasn’t tempted to rest Torres despite his far from ideal build-up to the game.
But he did have Peter Crouch ready to come on seconds before he completed his third hat-trick of the season nine minutes from the end.
“I was waiting with Crouch and told him to be ready and then Fernando went and scored his third,” said Benitez.
“Maybe he was thinking, ‘just in case it’s me coming off I’ll push harder’.”
Javier Mascherano emerged from the game as Liverpool’s only injury concern with a dead leg, although Xabi Alonso played the second half with a bandage on his head after Carlton Cole headed him instead of the ball.
Meanwhile, West Ham manager Alan Curbishley was despondent as his side slumped to their second four-goal defeat in four days after Chelsea inflicted similar agony at the weekend.
He said: “We made no impression on Liverpool in any area of the pitch. We have played two top sides and knew they would be tough, but we’ve let ourselves down. The last two performances just haven’t been good enough. We’re in no man’s land at the moment.”
The Spaniard has 24 goals in all competitions for Liverpool this season following last night’s hat-trick in the 4-0 demolition of West Ham.
It was Liverpool’s fourth win in five Premier League games since they lost away to the Hammers at the end of January and took them back into fourth place.
Torres, who shook off a bout of sickness to take part in the game, also scored three in the previous league game at Anfield, the 3-2 victory over Middlesbrough. And Benitez is convinced that his current form will help inspire his team-mates to qualification for the Champions League – and progress to the quarter-finals in this year’s competition.
“Torres is on fire and that is the difference because everyone has confidence that we will score,” said Benitez, whose side take a 2-0 first-leg lead to Inter Milan next week following Saturday’s home league game with Newcastle United.
“If he continues scoring he will always be a threat but if the defenders are thinking about him other players, like Ryan (Babel) or Stevie (Gerrard), can make an impact.“
And we are creating different situations now so you see different types of goals – that is his quality but it also says a lot about the quality of the players.”
The manager also feels that Liverpool are in their best form since the opening weeks of the campaign. They went above Everton into fourth on goal difference with last night’s win, which was their game in hand, and will go three points clear if they overcome Newcastle.
Their Merseyside rivals will then be the team with a game less, which will be played on Sunday at Sunderland, but Liverpool’s destiny is still in their own hands.
“We have confidence now,” added Benitez. “We started really well this season and played really well in some Champions League games but in this crucial period of the season we are playing well and with confidence.
“You could see the team working as a team and working hard and that is the difference for me.
“It’s important for us because we were talking about our one game in hand so when you see those three points in the table it’s much better for the confidence so it depends on us now.
“If we can beat Newcastle we can approach the game with Inter with a lot of confidence. But we have that now anyway because we are playing really well so that’s important for the rest of the season – but we must beat Newcastle on Saturday.”
Benitez revealed that he wasn’t tempted to rest Torres despite his far from ideal build-up to the game.
But he did have Peter Crouch ready to come on seconds before he completed his third hat-trick of the season nine minutes from the end.
“I was waiting with Crouch and told him to be ready and then Fernando went and scored his third,” said Benitez.
“Maybe he was thinking, ‘just in case it’s me coming off I’ll push harder’.”
Javier Mascherano emerged from the game as Liverpool’s only injury concern with a dead leg, although Xabi Alonso played the second half with a bandage on his head after Carlton Cole headed him instead of the ball.
Meanwhile, West Ham manager Alan Curbishley was despondent as his side slumped to their second four-goal defeat in four days after Chelsea inflicted similar agony at the weekend.
He said: “We made no impression on Liverpool in any area of the pitch. We have played two top sides and knew they would be tough, but we’ve let ourselves down. The last two performances just haven’t been good enough. We’re in no man’s land at the moment.”
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