Torres played through the pain against Man Utd

Rafa Benitez has risked his first tentative crowing over the weekend's 2-0 victory at home to Manchester United, telling the Daily Mail that he had always felt it likely that the Anfield team would continue the recent domination of their regional rivals.

"From the keeper to the last fan on the Kop, we were not going to be beaten," Benitez told the newspaper. "The players just did not want to lose and this was the perfect response. With the fans getting behind the team, we had 12 men on the pitch. We’ve answered a lot of questions."

It's the third Premier League tie on the trot where the Spaniard’s Liverpool eleven has beaten Sir Alex Ferguson's team, and not coincidentally each game has also seen Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic sent off, as he has been out-manoeuvered by the Merseyside club's pacy forwards, such as Fernando Torres.

Benitez also revealed that he had decided to play his compatriot Torres only as he drove from the club's Melwood training complex to Anfield. The Spanish striker was still feeling the effects of the adductor muscle injury that he picked up on international duty, and was described by his manager after the United game as only being "80 per cent fit".

That would seem to be enough to get by the once-feared central partnership of Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, who Torres ghosted past for the first goal. Vidic was eventually shown his second yellow card for fouling Dirk Kuyt when the Dutchman had burst past him - the last man - on the halfway line.

Torres, who will be rested for tomorrow night's trip to Arsenal in the Carling Cup, also spoke today about his goal past United's veteran keeper Edwin Van der Sar. “I feel a bit of pain when I shoot across goal, so I could only shoot towards the near post. It was the only thing I could do!" the Daily Telegraph reports him saying.

"I wasn't really at my best. We knew before the game I couldn't play to 100 per cent because I had some pain in some actions, but in games like this, the pain doesn't matter. I just wanted to play so much. When the team is losing and not playing well, it is so hard to watch and you just want to help."

Meanwhile, club legend and Match of the Day pundit Mark Lawrenson warned today in the Liverpool Daily Post that the victory over United will count for nothing unless the club can build on it.

Lawrenson also highlighted some concerns that remain pertinent despite Sunday's euphoria: "First of all, without Fernando Torres, there's a real problem. If Steven Gerrard is out you can just about get away with it but not a world class superstar leading the forward line. Despite his goal, David Ngog is not ready to take on that kind of role yet.

"Also," Lawrenson continued, "the squad is still too fragile. You’re talking about getting back into a title race here, and whether Liverpool can live with United and Chelsea over the course of a full season rather than 90 minutes is open to question. What Benitez needs to do now is figure out how he is going to make sure all Sunday’s good work doesn't go to waste." ·