"Today all of the players wanted to impress and do well - they knew we needed to improve," said Benitez.
"From the first minute, the players were playing with a great determination to win and it was important to have this mentality. I am really pleased with the reaction of the players.
"I think today we showed we have quality and when we play at our level, we can beat anyone.
"We had a game plan and we wanted to keep the ball and have plenty of possession. It was a difficult game and we had to come from behind twice, but I think we showed a lot of character.
"We have to improve on some other things, but at least we have won and we can prepare for our next game a little bit more relaxed."