RAFA: BATTLE FOR PLACES KEY TO SUCCESS

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Rafael Benitez feels the red hot battle for places in his attacking line is one of the reasons Liverpool head into the international break at the top of the Barclays Premier League.  
With eleven goals scored in their opening four games - and with six of them coming against Derby at the weekend - Benitez is delighted his forwards have hit the ground running at the start of the season and each made a case for regular inclusion in his plans.
  
And he believes the fierce battle for a starting place has helped take the Reds to the summit of English football for the first time in five years.
  
"There is a long way to go, what is more important is to make sure the team maintain the same mentality.
  
"The understanding between Torres and Kuyt is fine, but then when it was Kuyt and Voronin that was good also. It is the same when Crouch is playing with Torres, Voronin or Kuyt, I am pleased with all the combinations.
  
"All of them know what we want, their movement is good and I am sure it will improve even more over the coming weeks.
  
"Now we have four players with quality and different skills. I can now manage in a different way because you know all of them can score goals.
  
"You cannot say that Torres will score more goals that Kuyt, Voronin or Crouch. They can all score and they are all equal.
  
"We are different from last season. We are able to finish teams off, we can score the first and then the second, and the game is over. It is different to some of the games last season.
  
"I am sure the fans will enjoy where we are. But for me that is not important now, it is too early. We must keep going and see what happens in a couple of months' time.
  
"The work rate of the team is so good, Kuyt did not score against Derby but his effort and running was fantastic. Torres, Voronin too, I was really pleased with them all.
  
"We are better than before, we have more confidence and we are scoring more goals and winning games.
  
"Now we must keep winning and after a month or two, maybe we can then talk about whether we are at the beginning of a fantastic season."