Liverpool had struggled to break down a resolute Wolves backline until the visitors were reduced to 10 men eight minutes into the second half after Stephen Ward was sent off for a second bookable offence.

After Gerrard’s 62nd-minute opener, Yossi Benayoun made the game safe with his seventh goal of the season – all at Anfield – eight minutes later.

And Benitez said: “The most important thing was to win. We did that, got two goals and kept a clean sheet so there were a lot of positives from a difficult game.

“We have to go forward now. The main thing was to get three points and now we have to be ready. The fans can enjoy three or four days and we can see if we can beat Aston Villa. Then we’ll be closer.

“The second half we started really well, pressing and some corners. We were doing the right things, especially at the beginning of the second half.

“We know it’s a long race but we have to start winning games in a row. We have won today and hopefully we can win the next one, then it’ll be easy to keep the confidence high.”

Pacheco, the 18-year-old Spaniard who made his debut earlier this month in the Champions League home defeat to Fiorentina, caught the eye with a late cameo from the bench.

And Benitez said: “Dani is a player with quality who has played really well for the reserves.

“He was going forward and is not scared to go against the defenders. It was a real positive because he has shown he has quality.”