Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has expressed his pleasure in Liverpool's progression in the Champions League. Despite not playing well against Marseille, Benitez said he was thrilled the Reds have gone through to the knockout stage.

"It is really important that we qualified for the next stage, we won and now we can approach the final game in a different way without any pressures," Benitez said.

"It was a strange game, we scored and controlled it, but they attacked and we were left to hit on the counter-attack.

"We could not find the final pass. The game was too open against a team with pace and ability.

"They came to attack and had three strikers and two more just behind. To contain five players with pace and ability is not easy.

"Our final pass, though, to (Fernando) Torres was too quick. We must work on that but the main thing tonight was to win and to qualify, and we are very pleased.

"We knew they have good players, with pace and ability. They could be very dangerous if we did not control the ball. And that is what happened, they had space to run into and they were always a threat.

"We must improve our possession and to keep the ball and pass it better, we were giving the ball away too easily."