Liverpool did the bare minimum to get past Leeds United 1-0 in the Carling Cup.
David Ngog netted the only goal of the contest in the 66th minute when he seized a loose ball following a Javier Mascherano miss-hit and tucked it away.
Rafael Benitez used a much-changed starting line-up from the team that defeated West Ham on the weekend and was happy to see the right result for his players.
"We worked hard and I feel we had our chances. We won with a lot of players not playing and I am really pleased with my team, with the squad. These kind of games are very important to keep the quality of character. I think it was a fantastic win for us," he said.
"I think we showed today we can manage with different players and for the rest of the season it is important to know you have players who can come in."
