Rafa's Unirea verdict

Rafael Benitez believes it was a case of patience paying off after Liverpool left it late to claim a 1-0 victory over Unirea Urziceni at Anfield.

David Ngog's 80^th minute header secured a first leg lead in the last 32 tie for the Reds, who dominated throughout but were frustrated by a stubborn Romanian rearguard.

Benitez told his post-match press conference: "I think we could have scored one or two more goals, but this is football. The team were doing well in defence, so 1-0 with a clean sheet is not bad.

"Sometimes when the other team is defending well you have to be patient and keep moving the ball.

"I think we started really well and the fans were behind the players, so I was really pleased for a while. But they were deep and we didn't have many chances for a period. Afterwards, we had some corners and were attacking and pushing.

"You can't play at the same level we played against Real Madrid in every game, especially when the other team is waiting and defending well.

"We have to keep attacking like we did tonight and if you have one or two chances, you have to take them.

"If we had taken the first one in the first minute, things could have been different. We didn't, so we had to be patient and keep attacking until the end.

"Always it's important to score, especially in this competition. We were waiting for this goal and we are really pleased to have scored.

"We could have scored more, and we will see what happens in the next game."

VIDEO: Rafa's post-match press conference>>

Substitutes Ryan Babel and Dani Pacheco played key roles in helping Liverpool break the deadlock, and Benitez added: "It's always important to have good players on the bench who can play with different skills and change the game, so I am really pleased for them."

It ensured Liverpool will travel to Bucharest for the second leg next week holding an advantage - and the boss is anticipating a different type of contest.

Benitez said: "It's obvious they will have to attack, so maybe we will have more space and can play in a different way. Tonight was just about sustaining the attack because they were deep and waiting to counter-attack.

"It's always important to score and not concede. It's not the best result, but it's good."

Asked whether Unirea's resilience had taken Liverpool by surprise, Benitez said: "Not really. We knew they were well organised and a good team. Also we knew the new manager, so we were expecting more or less the same play."

Despite his side putting themselves into the driving seat for a place in the next round of the competition, Benitez is refusing to think any further ahead than next week's second leg contest.

"You know my idea - one game at a time," he said. "We have an important game next week so we will see if we can talk about the Europa League in a few weeks."

Meanwhile, reporters also quizzed the gaffer on the performance of Alberto Aquilani, who figured for 75 minutes against the Romanians.

"It's always a question of time," said Benitez. "He needs to play more games and these kind of games are difficult because when the other team is deep, you don't have too much space. So to find the right pass and the right play between the lines is not easy."