Rafael Benítez's Belief In Champions League 'Guarantee' Grows

Rafael Benítez praised his Liverpool side for delivering a "massive" performance against Everton at Anfield today. The hosts won a tetchy and often violent Merseyside derby 1-0 having had to play for the majority of the encounter with 10 men after their Greek defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos was sent off on 34 minutes for a two-footed lunge on Marouane Fellaini.

The victory, secured through Dirk Kuyt's 55th minute header, was Liverpool's fifth in seven league games and saw them climb into fourth place, at least briefly. But for Benítez, it was the nature of how his men triumphed in the 213th meeting between these sides that stood out the most, fuelling him as it did with further belief in his "guarantee" that the club will end the season in one of the Champions League qualifying places.

"To win in the derby is always important but to do it with 10 players is more important," said the Spaniard. "I am pleased for all the players and for all the fans. Everyone worked so hard.

"It's a long race [for fourth place] but if we keep working hard and sticking together like we did today then I feel even more sure that we can do it."

Benítez refused to comment on referee Martin Atkinson's decision to dismiss Kyrgiakos, although the way he reacted to the decision at the time indicated that he felt it was harsh.

Kyrgiakos charged into Fellaini with both feet off the ground and while he did get the ball, he also got the man with Fellaini having to be carried off the pitch and eventually replaced by Mikel Arteta. An x-ray carried out on the Belgian's ankle has revealed no serious damage caused by the tackle and he should be fit enough to feature in the visit of Chelsea on Wednesday.

In all, there was seven bookings with two shown to Steven Pienaar to take the tally of red cards handed out in this fixture since the formation to the Premier League to 19 – more than any other.

David Moyes, the Everton manager, felt both dismissals were correct and instead reserved his angst for his side's failure to capitalise on their one-man advantage.

"We kept the ball well but didn't create enough chances with the extra man," he said. "Saying that, we did not deserve to lose as Liverpool didn't create many chances either."

That was not an assessment shared by Benítez, whose side next faces Arsenal on Wednesday. "From the beginning we were doing well and we definitely deserved to win," he said. "We must now keep winning games."