Benitez reward after taking Torres gamble.

Byline: IAN DOYLE

FERNANDO TORRES believes Liverpool have kept their championship hopes alive by beating Manchester United - as Rafael Benitez revealed he only decided to play the striker hours before the game.

Torres netted his ninth goal in as many Premier League games this season to help the Anfield outfit to a 2-0 home win over their bitter North West rivals yesterday.

Liverpool now stand just four points adrift of United in fifth place, with only leaders Chelsea of the seven teams previously above them in the table having won over the weekend.

Torres missed the last two games with a groin problem but a late call by Benitez saw the striker recalled to the starting line-up.

And Torres said of the win: "It was a very important result. A massive win. We needed to win to stay in the title race. We are really happy with the perfor mance.

"Now it is essential that we keep going. If we play as a team and work hard we can beat anyone and get the results we need. So we have to remind ourselves that if we keep working hard and keep working as a unit we will do well."

Of his inclusion in the team, Torres added: "Yesterday after training I was talking with the boss but he wasn't sure whether I should be in the first XI or maybe on the bench.

"Then we decided this morning I could play. I wanted to play and I felt I could play."

Liverpool were without Steven Gerrard because of a similar groin problem the skipper aggravated during the midweek Champions League defeat to Lyon.

And Benitez said: "It was a difficult decision because Fernando had not been training like Gerrard and we needed to decide what to do but after talking with him we thought it was better to start with him.

"You could see that he was not 100% and you could see that he was not fresh but still sometimes 80% of Fernando can make a difference."

Torres scored in the 65th minute but was replaced 16 minutes later by David Ngog, who sealed Liverpool's win with the second goal deep in injury time.

And of the Spaniard's substitution, Benitez added: "We were waiting because we knew that he could score but also you have to think about him because when he has a problem, he has not been training and he is not 100% fit you know that you have to take care of him. But we were waiting because we were doing well so it was a question of finding the right ball, the final pass.

"He had only done two light training sessions because we knew that we could not push him too hard.

"The main thing was that he was working with the physios and the fitness coach, trying to make sure that he was fit and that he would not be a risk. We knew that he was not 100% fit but it wasn''t a risk so in the end he was able to play."

Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson admitted Manchester United had been beaten by the "better team" after a disappointing performance.

But the Old Trafford manager couldn't resist slamming referee Andre Marriner and believes United had no luck with decisions of the officials.

Ferguson was unhappy Jamie Carragher wasn't censured for a firsthalf tackle on Michael Carrick inside the area, and was even more dismayed the Liverpool centre-back escaped a red card after tangling with substitute Michael Owen late on.

"It was a disappointing afternoon," said Ferguson. "Liverpool were the better team and I am not taking anything away from them at all. They deserved to win the game.

"We are disappointed with some of the decisions but we know fine well and we have to hold our hands up -we were not good enough. But we didn''t have any luck in terms of decisions today.

"Michael Carrick gets a clear penalty kick as far as I was concerned. Jamie Carragher has gone right over the top of the ball.

"If it is outside of the box it is a free kick and maybe a yellow card. But it was inside the box and the referee was only six yards from it. It was a bad decision I think.

"The most controversial decision was Carragher bringing down Michael Owen. He was clean through.

"The laws of the game were altered to prevent professional fouls of that nature and if Jamie Carragher goes off, he is their best defender and their captain. It would have been a different game. They would have been under pressure.

"The referee was only four or five yards from it, and he can''t use a covering defender as an excuse. Michael was clean through. With Michael''s pace he is going to get away from him."

Ferguson added: "It is a very difficult atmosphere here. There was a wounded animal aspect to the game and it was something we didn''t overcome."

CAPTION(S):

Fernando Torres bursts past Nemanja Vidic