RAFAEL BENITEZ described Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Everton in the 212th Merseyside derby as a possible “turning point” in the club’s season. However, he admitted that his team were indebted to Pepe Reina’s goalkeeping on a day when Everton largely dominated their neighbours.

Considering the inconsistent start to the season, which was compounded by Wednesday’s failure to qualify for the Champions League group stages, Benitez was keen to accentuate the positives as the Reds moved up to fifth in the English Premier League.

“I think it was really important for us. We won against Debrecen (midweek) and we knew we had to keep winning,” said the Spaniard.

“Derbies are always difficult and important, and to win could be a boost for the rest of the season,” he said. “We are higher in the table now and we will see if we can keep winning. This could be a turning point.”

Liverpool’s win was sealed by Dirk Kuyt’s 80th-minute goal after the scoring was opened by a Javier Mascherano shot that ricocheted off Joseph Yobo to wrong-foot the Everton goalkeeper, Tim Howard, after 12 minutes. It extends Everton’s miserable run to one win in 11 games, leaving them fifth from bottom in the Premier League, but their manager, David Moyes, spoke with a sense of injustice.

“Until they made it 2-0 I can’t remember them having a single other chance apart from one header in the first half,” he said. “The players worked extremely hard and I thought they deserved more. I don’t know how many times Liverpool had been in our half before the first goal, but it wasn’t many. We were trying to set the pace, making it difficult for them, and at half-time I just felt that if we did the same again maybe our luck would change. In the main, we kept them quiet, so it’s difficult not to get anything from the game.”

Benitez, describing Reina’s performance as “amazing”, acknowledged that Everton had been the better side for long spells and was asked whether he thought the win was lucky. “Clearly it was a difficult game,” he said. “Everton were direct and playing a set-piece game from the beginning and it was very difficult to control. They are big and good in the air. We had to show character and tried to play on the counter-attack. Sometimes our possession was good, but other times it was not so good, and they were on top of us. We had to show character but maybe at the end we had more control.”

At 1-0, with Everton pressing for an equaliser, Reina produced a double save to keep out Tim Cahill’s header and then the follow-up from Marouane Fellaini at close range. “It was a great save,” said Benitez. “Today Pepe showed he is a world-class goalkeeper. We had to defend a lot of throw-ins, free-kicks and corners against a team that is good in the air, and that is not easy. It was not only his saves but the way he helped his defenders, too.

“When we signed Reina we knew he was a good goalkeeper but he is learning and improving all the time. For me, he is one of the best ’keepers in the world and he showed that again today.”

Guardian Service