FERNANDO TORRES has been more vocal than most in his backing of beleaguered Rafael Benitez.

But last night, the Spaniard’s actions on the field provided more support for his manager than any words ever could.

A magnificent individual performance from the club record signing helped Liverpool secure their passage to the knockout stages of the Champions League at the expense of Marseille and ease the pressure on Benitez.

The undoubted highlight was Torres’s sensational 11th-minute strike, the striker slaloming through three home challenges before slipping the ball home.

A goal that will withstand constant replaying, it epitomised an outstanding team display from Liverpool when Benitez needed it most.

Given the circumstances surrounding last night’s fixture, this must rank among the Anfield outfit’s finest away victories in Europe and certainly one of the most important in the Spaniard’s reign.

Defeat to Reading at the weekend had increased the scrutiny on the manager ahead of a crucial week that, besides their decisive trip to southern France , includes a summit with the club’s owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks ahead of Sunday’s visit of Manchester United.

The manager can now go into that meeting in a position of strength while his players entertain the champions with confidence soaring.

Gillett – present in the stands at the Stade Velodrome last night – will surely have been impressed.

Liverpool ’s previous visit to the intimidating arena resulted in a 2-1 UEFA Cup defeat in March 2004 that accelerated the demise of then manager Gerard Houllier.

But from the moment Steven Gerrard fired the visitors into a fourth-minute lead to become the club’s highest-ever goalscorer in European competition, there was little chance of Benitez’s team suffering the same fate.

Second-half efforts from Dutch duo Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel sealed an emphatic victory, with the manager’s faith that his team could rise to the big occasion thoroughly justified.

With Liverpool stepping out in their all-black third kit and Marseille decked in a garish peach and light blue combination, the teams were unrecognisable from when the French team won 1-0 at Anfield earlier in the competition.

But it wasn’t just in terms of appearance that there were vast differences. Back to full strength, Liverpool demonstrated the chasm in quality between the sides that Benitez’s misguided selection in October had inadvertently helped bridge.

Indeed, the one-sided nature of last night’s win underlines the bewilderment that Liverpool had contrived to find themselves in such a precarious position in the first place.

Porto’s defeat of Besiktas in the night’s other Group A means that the Benitez’s side finish as runners-up to the Portuguese and face a testing second-round game against one of a group of teams including Inter Milan, AC Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid and possibly Sevilla.

But having now rattled in 16 goals in their final three group games, the Anfield outfit have clearly found their rhythm in the competition.

No team would want to face Torres in this form. The striker led the Marseille defence a merry dance throughout, with the opponents forced to resort to increasingly agricultural tactics to stop the rampaging Spaniard.

But, as Benitez rightly pointed out, he wasn’t alone in impressing. From a defence that completely negated the French threat to a midfield in which Harry Kewell shone and an attack where Kuyt’s goal was just reward for an industrious display, Liverpool outclassed, outthought and outfought their hosts.

Gerrard, who was pelted by three lighters, a couple of golf balls and some coins as he prepared to take Liverpool ’s first corner, epitomised his team’s determination with one thunderous second-half challenge. The skipper led my example.

Benitez’s insistence the game was a cup final had meant an inevitable start for Kewell, one of four changes with Sami Hyypia, Yossi Benayoun and Kuyt also coming in.

Marseille, in coach Eric Gerets’ first game in charge, had caught Liverpool off guard in October, but the same could not be said last night with the French team stepping out with an identical line-up.

With Marseille having won all six of their previous meetings here against English opposition – an achievement marked by banners unveiled before the game – the home supporters were in confident mood and the fans were literally bouncing with expectation on a bitterly cold, wind-swept evening.

But they were soon silenced during a devastating opening spell from the visitors.

There had been a worrying few moments for Liverpool when, directly from the kick-off, Kuyt’s pass back to Gerrard was a little short and the skipper injured himself while reaching for the ball.

Gerrard lay prone for a length of time before hobbling around a bit, but allayed any fears only minutes later by earning a penalty, missing it and then converting the rebound.

The midfielder was upended in the area by Gael Givet as he raced on to Kuyt’s pass, and although Gerrard’s centrally-placed spot-kick was saved by Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, the Liverpool man reacted quickest to convert the loose ball.

It was Gerrard’s 10th goal in his last 11 games and moved him past Michael Owen as the club’s leading goalscorer in European competition with 23.

And matters got even better for Benitez’s side seven minutes later with a sublime Torres strike.

The Spaniard, accepting a pass from Kewell on the left-hand edge of the penalty area, drifted way from Lorik Cana, jinked beyond Julien Rodriguez and then coolly slotted into the bottom corner past Mandanda before Givet could challenge.

The home team were unsurprisingly shellshocked by the double setback and it took them until midway through the half to cause any consternation in the visiting defence, Pepe Reina ushering Marseille’s Anfield matchwinner Mathieu Valbuena out of play.

Liverpool , though, threatened a third in the minutes before half-time. After Kewell was fouled 25 yards out, Gerrard curled a free-kick inches wide while the Australian then flashed a volley over from a good position and Torres was too high after a Kuyt throughball.

But they didn’t have to wait long after the restart to extend their lead. A poor clearance by Mandanda was intercepted by Kewell, who instantly played a perfect pass in for Kuyt to thrash past the keeper.

Marseille substitute Djibril Cisse, who had replaced fellow former Liverpool player Bolo Zenden at half-time, was close with a deflected header that dropped just wide of Reina’s left-hand post on 64 minutes.

But by then, both teams knew the game was well and truly over and proceedings fizzled out in the final quarter, confirmation of which came in injury time when substitute Babel latched on to John Arne Riise’s pass, danced around Mandanda and tapped in. Liverpool, and their manager, walk on.