Benitez feeling the strain but Reds keep winning

Rafael Benitez has paid tribute to the character of his Liverpool players after another second-half fightback kept them hot on the heels of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League.

But the Spaniard, who takes his unbeaten side to Stamford Bridge next Sunday, admits he would prefer not to have to watch them mount the kind of late recovery that produced a 3-2 win over ten-man Wigan at Anfield.

“The whole side showed great character to come back like that again. We did something similar at Manchester City a fortnight ago, and maybe I would like a calmer time on the bench,” Benitez said.

“You will have to ask my doctor how much of this I can take. It would be nice to have three or four goals at the break for a change.

“But I felt we won it because we have belief in ourselves, and believe that we can win these games. It is a positive situation for us that we have this level of confidence.”

In the absence of the injured Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt joined Robbie Keane in attack and the Dutchman scored twice, including a late winner, to triple his league tally for the season.

Liverpool had trailed 2-1 at half-time but they turned things around after Wigan were reduced to 10 men by the sending off of Ecuadorian winger Antonio Valencia.

Albert Riera's first goal since arriving at Anfield from Espanyol made it 2-2 before Kuyt smashed the winner in the final five minutes.

“We were talking about Kuyt not scoring enough goals in the Premier League, but he has shown character and proved that he can score,” Benitez added.

Kuyt is set to join Keane in attack again when Liverpool travel to Atletico Madrid for a Champions League match on Wednesday. Torres will miss that match and the trip to Chelsea on Sunday but the Wigan match has left Benitez with no further injury worries.

Wigan manager Steve Bruce criticised referee Alan Wiley for dismissing Valencia, who was also sent off while representing his country last weekend.

His side were winning 2-1, courtesty of Amr Zaki's first-half double, when Valencia was dismissed for a second bookable offence with 15 minutes remaining.

“We feel harshly treated,” Bruce admitted. “There's a sense of frustration in the dressing room because the referee got the decision wrong.

“It's a joke that we haven't come away with anything.

“We've played eight games now and, for me, we should be five or six points better off.

“We were excellent for 70 minutes and looked comfortable for 80 minutes.”

The one bright note for the Wigan manager was the performance of Zaki, who is rapidly emerging as one of the most feared forwards in the league.

The on-loan Egyptian international made it seven goals in eight Premier League outings, his second a quality finished in front of the Kop which earned applause from the Liverpool fans and enthusiastic praise from his manager.

“Zaki was absolutely scary,” said Bruce.