First, the expectation of a frustrated crowd yearning for success after 15 years without a League title. And second, the disorganisation of his side who played the first half with a lack of cohesion.
Liverpool left the field after 45 minutes trailing to a Nicolas Anelka goal that defied the run of play. City had come for a draw. They showed little inclination to go forward and when Shaun Wright-Phillips lobbed the ball forward for Anelka to chase, the home defence was taken by surprise. Jamie Carragher and Jerzy Dudek made a mess of coping with the threat. The keeper let the ball slide out of his grasp and Anelka pounced like a true predator.
It was time for the man who led Valencia to two domestic titles to earn his corn. And quickly.
Liverpool levelled the scores within three minutes of the restart. Josemi, making his home debut, knocked the ball in from the right. Steven Gerrard, who had a fine game, stroked a pass to the feet of Milan Baros and the Czech striker found the net from close range.
Now Liverpool began to motor. David James in the City goal had plenty to cope with and he didn't always cope well. He fumbled as many as he caught but deserves credit for stopping a rush on goal by Djibril Cissé and pulling off a left-handed save to deny Baros.
But he was helpless to keep out Gerrard's winner. Baros shot from close range and James parried the ball to the feet of the Liverpool captain who rammed it home with some style.
City, by this time, were on the ropes and they suffered a body blow in the closing minutes when Richard Dunne was sent off for a second bookable offence.
It was a curious business. Dunne certainly appeared to hold back Baros but referee Graham Poll waved play on. He then stopped the game and consulted a linesman before giving the City man his marching orders and awarding a free-kick to Liverpool.
'I'm not going to comment,' said City manager Kevin Keegan of the incident, before commenting at length.
'When the referee has to call his linesman for police protection as they go down the tunnel that says it all. Our players thought Baros was offside. The referee didn't give the foul at first and the linesman wasn't with play.'
But he acknowledged that his side had been poor. 'We didn't play great. We never got our game going properly.'
Benitez said: 'We can score a lot of goals with this side. It was good that we won because it makes the fans happy.'
One suspects that the jury is still out. Cissé flitted in and out of the game, occasionally showing his pace and close control. But it was Baros, the workhorse, who posed the greater threat. And where would they be without Gerrard? He wins so much ball, testing the keeper with his cannonball shots and caressing the ball to open up the defence.
As for City, what of Wright-Phillips? The young man who thrilled St James' Park with his debut goal for England last Wednesday was largely played off the pitch by John Arne Riise.
The match over, Cissé sowed the seeds of a love affair with the fans by strolling across the pitch and tossing his shirt into the Kop. Whether this show of affection will be reciprocated only time will tell.
Man of the match: Gerrard - a dynamic force.
