A SEEKER of victories rather than approval ratings, Rafael Benítez has a habit of making decisions that perplex even his own supporters. Omitting Steven Gerrard for the opening game in the Champions League group stage was one of them but the Liverpool manager was vindicated — as he tends to be — by a crucial win despite only a cameo role from his captain last night.

Saving their best form for Europe as they did so often last season, Liverpool secured three points and relieved much of the pressure before the visit of Chelsea in a fortnight. “I am thinking only of winning [against Chelsea],” Benítez said, but he will know that a draw will be acceptable against the Premiership leaders.

Benítez was not the only happy manager in Seville. Sven-Göran Eriksson, the England head coach, will have regarded his scouting mission to watch Peter Crouch’s Champions League debut as time well spent. The centre forward was pulled off for tactical reasons inside an hour, but he had shown enough touch and awareness to be pencilled in as Wayne Rooney’s replacement for the World Cup qualifying match against Austria next month. “He was very difficult to play against. We never got hold of him at all,” Juanito, the Betis defender, said of the dextrous target man.

Hosts of a Champions League game for the first time, and thrilled to be doing so to judge from the noise, Betis must have dreamt of displaying their attacking prowess against the European champions but, instead, they were on the back foot right from kick-off.

Only two minutes had elapsed when Benítez’s bold team selection paid off. Florent Sinama Pongolle was unexpectedly selected on the right wing but he was loitering in the middle, looking for lay-offs from Crouch, when Jamie Carragher launched the ball forward.

Sinama Pongolle had the first touch, a deft one with his instep. The ball ricocheted off Crouch’s foot but, if that touch was unwitting, the finish from the little Frenchman was entirely, and gloriously, deliberate as he looped his shot from the edge of the penalty area over a goalkeeper who had strayed five yards off his line.

In a controlled and composed first period, Luis García, Boudewijn Zenden and Sinama Pongolle all benefited from Crouch’s ability to bring the ball under control even when arriving at what, to most players, represents high altitude. In the fourteenth minute, his sleight of foot invited Zenden to take on his marker and, having gained a yard, the winger crossed low to the near post. Luis García had anticipated and, having slipped in front of the centre half, poked his shot just inside a post.

Liverpool had excelled, but a side of Betis’s pace and panache were bound to retaliate. On his return to Spain, José Reina was twice forced into smart blocks. It was a warning of what was to follow in a raucous second half. Taking the game back to Liverpool, with rapier thrusts down both flanks, Betis struck back within seven minutes of the restart.

Otherwise excellent, Carragher was out of position when the ball was slipped through to Arzu and, when Hyypia missed the interception, the finish was simple.

Now it was Liverpool on the back foot and Benítez did not wait long to throw in Djibril Cissé for Crouch, presumably in the hope that his pace might work on the counter-attack. John Arne Riise and Gerrard followed from the bench as the visiting team sought to cling to their advantage. They did so, even if communication between Reina and his defenders broke down at times.

As well as the victory, Liverpool had rested Gerrard for all but 17 minutes before Sunday’s meeting with Manchester United at Anfield. “We were trying to protect him and other tired players,” Benítez said. In all senses, it was mission accomplished.

REAL BETIS (4-3-3): A Doblas — Melli, G Juanito (sub: M Xisco, 46min), D Rivas, O López — Arzu (sub: Capi, 72), Fernando (sub: Dani, 36), M Assunção — Joaquín, R Oliveira, F Varela. Substitutes not used: P Contreras, M Lozano, Nano, P Castellini.

LIVERPOOL (4-4-2): J Reina — Josemi, J Carragher, S Hyypia, D Traoré — F Sinama Pongolle (sub: S Gerrard, 73), M Sissoko, X Alonso, B Zenden (sub: J A Riise, 66) — L García, P Crouch (sub: D Cissé, 58). Booked: Reina. Substitutes not used: S Carson, S Finnan, D Hamann, S Warnock. Booked: Carragher.

Referee: K Plautz (Austria).