Benayoun can be England hero

Liverpool were not alone in seeking salvation in Yossi Benayoun's destruction of Besiktas at Anfield. For Steve McClaren, the sight of the Israel captain returning to form provided rare but rich encouragement for the England manager ahead of the contest in Tel Aviv next Saturday that may well decide his fate.

In a season of Champions League torment, injuries and stuttering form at Liverpool, the frustrations of the summer signing from West Ham have often been ignored. Occasional flashes of ingenuity and a superb match-winning goal at Wigan have indicated his worth to Rafael Benitez's squad, but a meagre seven starts and an admission that he has struggled to accept his manager's selection methods is a more telling reflection of Benayoun's Liverpool career thus far.

Until Tuesday night's rout of the hapless Turks, that is.

A hat-trick and two assists in the record Champions League victory arrived at a perfect moment in Liverpool's European campaign. Benayoun's English team-mates, whose European Championship qualification prospects rest on a positive Israeli result against Russia next weekend, were keen to offer more than their congratulations in the Anfield dressingroom afterwards.

"Both me and Stevie (Gerrard) have been on at him constantly and we told him to stay fresh and do the same again in the Israel game," said Peter Crouch, one of Liverpool's four goalscorers against a Besiktas team whose misery on Merseyside did not end at Anfield. They did not fly out of John Lennon Airport until yesterday morning, just in time to be confronted by laughing ex-pat Liverpudlians making their way home and disappointed Evertonians en route to Nuremberg. Sheepish would best describe their departure.

Crouch added: "I was delighted for Yossi. It was fantastic to see him getting the hat-trick and he was involved in almost everything. We need him to play that well for Israel, too, and do a job against Russia. It would be great to see him make a hero of himself to the England fans as well as those at Liverpool."

Where Liverpool differ from England is that progress is in their hands, with qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League almost certainly theirs should they defeat group leaders Porto and Marseille.

But amid the acclaim for Tuesday's historic result and reinvigorated display, one nagging doubt filled Anfield. How did Liverpool lose to Besiktas in the first place?

"I must admit that there is a little bit of frustration that we are in this position, because a couple of our performances have not been as good as they can be," said Crouch. "They gave us a massive awakening at their ground but we always felt we could beat them here. Yes, it was a fantastic result, but we need to play like that more often.

"It seems to be the way that you only see the true Liverpool when we are up against it. We've had our backs to the wall and produced the goods before and now we've done it again. But although it was an emphatic win it is still only three points and we have a lot of work still to do."

While Benayoun's input increased hope for the England manager, the prospect of Gerrard playing his ninth game in 28 days against Fulham on Saturday will be a concern, despite the subsequent break until the Croatia contest on November 21st.

The workload prompted Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, to claim the RSPCA would be called to investigate were Gerrard a racehorse, but the Liverpool captain has told Taylor to mind his own business.

"It is not up to anyone else but the manager, the Liverpool coaching staff and myself to decide if I am playing too much," responded Gerrard. "I have just played eight games in 24 days and I suppose that is a heavy workload, but I am not the type of player who looks for a rest. I would play every game if I could.

"I have worked with Rafa for over three years so he knows my physical condition better than anyone and he will know when the time is right for me to have a rest."