Benitez praise for goal king Torres

Rafael Benitez has warned Liverpool's Barclays Premier League rivals that Fernando Torres will get even better after the striker hit a brace in Saturday's 3-2 win at West Ham.

El Nino started and finished the scoring on an eventful evening at Upton Park and the Reds boss feels there is still much more to come from his number 9.
 
"Last week he was not scoring goals and people were asking whether he was fit," Rafa told his post-match press conference. "Tonight he has scored two important goals and I am really pleased with him.
 
"I was also pleased with his contribution against Debrecen because he was working very hard - not scoring - but creating chances and space for his teammates.
 
"Today you could see he was a constant threat."
 
A stunning solo goal and a powerful header took the Spain international's tally for the season to five in all-competitions and Benitez is now keen to see the forward embark on a long goalscoring run.
 
"He is a very good player, but the main thing for us, is that he keeps his mentality," said Benitez.
 
"He is keen to learn and can improve. You saw his quality today. We have a very good player and hopefully he will get better in the future.
 
"He's now fit and we are working hard with him. If he cannot play one or two games, we have Kuyt who can score goals or maybe Ryan (Babel) who did well when he came on today.
 
"Hopefully he will stay fit and score a lot of goals for us, but we have different options and I think we can manage."
 
Asked if he felt Torres was THE best striker in the league, Benitez said: "If he continues to plays like today, I'm sure he will be one of the best.
 
"When you talk about the Premier League, you talk about a lot of players with quality, so it's hard to pick just one. But I think he is one of them.
 
"We are happy because it's not just what he does on the pitch. He is very professional and a nice lad. Like I say he is a good player."
 
The Reds twice took the lead in the first-half at Upton Park but were pegged back by goals from Alessandro Diamanti (pen) and Carlton Cole.
 
Benitez admitted he was disappointed with the individual mistakes that led to both equalisers but was pleased with his side's response.
 
"If you analyse the team in defence, it wasn't bad," he said. "We made individual mistakes that can happen sometimes. The reaction was very positive, so to score the third goal and be attacking all time was the perfect response."
 
Quizzed about the defending at the corner that led to Cole's goal on the stroke of half-time, he continued: "We analysed this. We were good the other day (against Debrecen), but the problem is that he (Cole) is very good in the air. When you see the goal again we had two or three players around, but sometimes you have to give credit to the striker.
 
"When you talk about individual mistakes it is easier to find a solution. So Carra knows and Skrtel knows. It was just a question of making sure we had more focus."
 
The Reds' improved second-half display led to the winner that saw substitute Ryan Babel cross for Torres to head home.
 
Benitez felt the introduction of the Dutchman was key and explained his decision to replace Liverpool's other goalscorer, Kuyt.
 
"I felt we were in control of the game. We were talking about it and after we could see that Kuyt was really tired. We knew we had to do it.
 
"Ryan was very good, his pace was crucial for us and I think that was the key."
 
Liverpool's third league victory on the bounce has moved them up to third in the table, three points behind leaders Chelsea.
 
The Blues could extend their advantage when they face Spurs on Sunday while United and City will contest the Manchester derby.
 
Asked if he will be an interested observer, Benitez said: "I don't worry about other teams. My concern is to see if we can improve and defend better as a team and continue scoring goals. You cannot influence the other games so it is better to focus on your own team."