Steven Gerrard called on Liverpool to go on to bigger and better
things after they snatched a 1-0 Premier League victory over Aston
Villa.
Fernando Torres scored in the third minute of stoppage time
after the ball fortuitously broke to him in the box to settle a
clash at Villa Park which had appeared to be heading for stalemate.
"That's what football's about," Gerrard told Sky Sports 1.
"You've got to keep going until the end and when you've got guys
like (Torres) there's always a chance.
"When he's on form he's the best in the world.
"We're hoping it gives us a big boost. The idea now is to
treat the next game like tonight. This means nothing. It all
depends where you are at the end.
"It's important to build on this. I'm sure we'll gain a lot
of confidence from this and there's no excuses now.
"We've got to win games."
The win took Liverpool to within two points of their
opponents and four of Tottenham in fourth, the final Champions
League place.
Gerrard said: "It'll be a race until the very end and we've
got to make sure we're in it."
Torres added: "We needed to win to be close to the top four.
It was a massive game for us.
"Last season we kept working until the end and got points in
extra time, like today."
Rafael Benitez paid tribute to his star forward, saying:
"He's a very, very good player, a key player for us and his record
is amazing. I'm really, really pleased for him and for the team."
He added: "It was a very difficult game. The pitch was not
the best. We were trying, they were trying.
"We had control but they were dangerous at set pieces.
"We need to keep working hard like today. You could see the
team was working everyone together and I think that's the only way
to change things."
Benitez, whose side have struggled all season, raised
eyebrows when he promised Reds fans they would still finish in the
top four.
But he told Sky Sports 1: "The man has to have confidence in
his team so I have to say we will finish in the top four.
"As a manager of your team you have to have confidence in
your players, you cannot say it any other way. I'm really surprised
people are talking about this."
Glen Johnson limped off, and Benitez added: "He'll have to
have a scan but maybe he'll have a problem with his knee."
