Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez was delighted to see Javier Mascherano break his Reds duck in yesterday's 2-1 victory over Reading.

Benitez told liverpoolfc.tv: "We have seen before that Mascherano is not bad on the edge of the box. He just needs to improve his accuracy and then he could score more goals. If other teams play deeper then he might have space and he can score.

"We have talked about this with him and he knows he can score from the edge of the box. But it's not normal because he is a holding midfielder and plays deeper than Gerrard and Torres. He can do it though because he has ability and quality.

"It was a fantastic goal for him and an important one for us."

Benitez knows he's already starting to get his money's worth.

"When you have a player for a year and you know how good he is, sometimes you just have to pay the money," he said. "You see sides who've spent £20million on two or three midfielders. We knew this player was good and we needed to spend the money.

"The balance is the key. To have people who can work hard but who also have quality."