Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has heaped praise on goalkeeper Pepe Reina after he became the fastest in the club's history to make it to 50 clean sheets in the 3-0 home win over Sunderland on Saturday.

Benitez said: "I have been talking about how good 'Pepe' is for a very long time.

"For him to keep 50 clean sheets since he joined the club is a terrific performance.

"And it is a goalkeeper of Ray Clemence's quality that he has beaten. Not just any goalkeeper but one of the club's greats in Clemence. That shows how good Reina has had to be.

"But it also underlines the standard of defending. A keeper cannot have 50 clean sheets if the players in front of him are not doing their job.

"Now this is something we must repeat, another 50 cleans sheets from Pepe in the same way would be ideal for us.

"It is much easier for our strikers to score goals if they know we do not have any problems in defence."