Carragher backs Benitez

Liverpool's Jamie Carragher is delighted with Rafa Benitez's impact.

The England international was surprised to see Gerard Houllier's tenure at Anfield end, but he believes that The Reds are playing better football.

"I think we've done well considering the problems we've had," Carragher told The Independent.

"I don't think you can say it's like last year. I think if we had been in the [UEFA] Champions League a year ago we wouldn't have gone through to the group stage.

"And I know that the fans have enjoyed going to Anfield a lot more than they did last season.

"No one really had a sense that Gerard would be leaving, people really thought he was going to get one more year.

"It was a bit of a shock, we were away in Sardinia with England and it came on Sky News that he had left.

"Of course we were getting reports on what was happening but it was a week until we heard about Benitez being a possibility.

"It bolstered us. You look at the side he has produced at Valencia.

"We were disappointed for Gerard. We had a lot to thank him for, but also there is a lot of excitement at working with a manager who has just won the best football league in the world.

"He was the manager of Valencia - he left Valencia. It wasn't as if he was sacked, he left the champions to come here, which does us great credit."