"The workrate of Javier Mascherano in the midfield is amazing," said Benitez.
"He can give the other midfield players more freedom. If you go with more offensive players you know he will be in a good defensive position, and that is very important for the team.
"The only player who covered more ground than Mascherano was Momo Sissoko. The difference is Javier has more experience. Momo was amazing and Mascherano is as good as Momo in terms of the workrate but also has better positions.
"A lot of players worked really hard, especially the strikers Dirk Kuyt and Robbie Keane, who were doing amazing work up front, and also Albert Riera in his first game played well."