BY his own admission, Rafael Benitez has made mistakes this season. And he was guilty of another last night.

After all, the Spaniard's claim he has taken his Liverpool side as far as he can was proven to be not quite accurate as they progressed to the semi-finals of the Europa League on a night of high tension at Anfield.

With co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks watching on from the directors' box, Benitez's men overturned a first-leg deficit in thrilling fashion with a resounding triumph over Benfica to keep alive hopes of a silver lining to a tortuous campaign.

While accepting his share of the blame for this season's failings, Benitez had chosen before the game to launch his latest broadside at the American duo over the lack of fresh investment the Anfield manager believes will see the club stagnate if not addressed this summer.

On this evidence, Hicks and Gillett might well wonder whether an influx of new players is required given the scintillating manner in which Liverpool brought Benfica's 27-game unbeaten run to a shuddering halt.

But the fact remains Benitez is right. Certainly, the American duo were left in no doubt the manager's fear is echoed by many Liverpool followers given the half-time chants against the pair and a demonstration outside the Main Stand after the game.

Benfica had ended Liverpool's reign as European champions with a 2-0 win here four years ago, but the Anfield outfit marked their 100th game in this competition with perhaps their best performance of the campaign to put Europe's in-form team through the shredder in devastating fashion.

First-half goals from Dirk Kuyt and Lucas Leiva wiped out defeat in Lisbon a week earlier with Fernando Torres extending the advantage in the second half before securing Liverpool's passage after Oscar Cardozo's deflected free-kick frayed home nerves.

Torres is now the first Liverpool player to score two goals in four consecutive home games, enough to earn a standing ovation on being substituted four minutes from time last night – a somewhat different response to that on his withdrawal at Birmingham City on Sunday.

The striker now faces a reunion with former club Atletico Madrid later this month for a place in the final in Hamburg on May 12.

For once, though, Torres had to cede man-of-the-match honours to his fellow goalscorers. Lucas will probably never be a favourite with the home crowd but this was arguably his finest performance in a Liverpool shirt, the Brazilian taking his goal with aplomb and again prospering a more advanced role.

Kuyt, meanwhile, had spoken beforehand of Liverpool's hunger for silverware this season, and he epitomised their desire with a typically industrious display allied to a neat touch that saw him poach the first goal and lay on another for Torres.

But there were heroes throughout Benitez's side; Yossi Benayoun buzzing with intent, Javier Mascherano at his destructive best and Daniel Agger solving Liverpool's left-back conundrum with a composed performance in the unaccustomed position.

The Anfield outfit felt hard done by after last week's 2-1 defeat at Lisbon, and the controversy that has dogged this tie continued in the 27th minute when Liverpool went ahead on the night.

It seemed a pretty straightforward affair when Steven Gerrard swung a corner in from the left and Kuyt, in a strike similar to that against Everton earlier in the season, stepped away from goalkeeper Julio Cesar and headed home from inside the six-yard box.

The referee and extra official stood barely yards away awarded the goal, but the assistant running the line on the far side somehow decided the strike should be chalked off for offside.