Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has reserved special praise for Glen Johnson, insisting the England international right-back is one of the best in Europe. Benitez believes he is even still improving now.

“I think he is a very good player,” Benítez said. “He is keen to learn, so he knows he can improve in defence, but if you analyse the balance between his attack and defence, then he is a very good player. He is a threat for the other team all the time. He has to improve in defence, but if he continues attacking, then he will be more difficult for the opponent.

“How do we improve him? The first thing is to understand the game and the problems and then afterwards he will improve. But he is keen to learn, so we will see how he progresses in this time. He is one of the best in Europe, 100 per cent. When you analyse the strengths and weaknesses in his game, he is really good.

“The problems he has are not as bad as people think, but when you are full back and are attacking, you are not in defence. So that is the problem.”