Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard hailed the impact of matchwinner Yossi Benayoun after victory over Fulham.

He said: "We knew before the game a draw or a defeat was no good to us. It was important to win to keep the pressure on Man United, and on Chelsea who also won today.

"It was a massive performance from the lads and on the day the result was the least we deserved. If I'm being honest, there were times when I thought it wasn't going to be for us today, but we kept going and Yossi popped up with a great goal.

"Yossi is a special player. He gets important goals for us and even though he doesn't play every game, I think he's close to double figures now so that shows how important he is to us and how important it is to have a good squad.

"If we keep playing with this level of confidence for the rest of the season then Yossi's goal could prove to be massive for us.

"We have to see how Man United get on against Villa tomorrow now. The important thing for us is to make sure United know they are in a title fight and we're doing that."