Rafa relieved at revival

Rafael Benitez described Liverpool's 4-0 demolition of Marseille as "almost perfect" - he could just as well have been talking about his own position in relation to the club's owners.
After watching his side book their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with a convincing win here, Benitez was predictably reluctant to get drawn into commenting on the extent to which his side's form will have strengthened his bargaining power in relation to the Americans George Gillett and Tom Hicks, with whom he is supposed to be holding clear-the-air talks this week.
But the Spaniard insisted he was confident that his immediate future as Liverpool's manager is not in doubt.
"Always I have had confidence (about continuing)," Benitez said. "You can see the players and supporters are happy. For me that is the key for the future - to keep growing and keep improving."
Benitez added: "I am really proud to be the manager of this club. You can see tonight our supporters - they were fantastic but even more important was were the players.
"We knew before the game we had to work really hard as a team in defence and players with determination going forward," he said.
"And they did that, we were compact as a unit and we took our chances. Almost everything was perfect."
With tensions over the size of his January transfer budget still lingering, the significance of Benitez's meeting with the owners this week remains to be seen, but the manager insisted his primary focus would be preparing for Sunday's Premier League showdown with Manchester United.
"As I said before, I must think about United - other things are simple. I'm not thinking about my own situation every day. I think about my team and how to improve the performances."
Liverpool went into the match knowing they had to win to be sure of going through and the outcome was never in doubt after captain Steven Gerrard knocked in the rebound from his own penalty.
That was followed by a superb solo effort from Fernando Torres, a Dirk Kuyt goal early in the second half and a stoppage time effort from substitute Ryan Babel as Liverpool became the first English club to win at the home of France's best-supported club.
The win completed a remarkable turnaround in Liverpool's fortunes in group A.
A 1-0 defeat by Marseille at Anfield in October had left Benitez's side with just one point from their opening three matches.
Since then however they have beaten Besiktas 8-0 and FC Porto 4-1 at home and the equally comfortable nature of this win will send them into the last 16 - and Sunday's showdown with United - in confident mood.