Fernando Torres' Absence Letting Liverpool Down

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has admitted the absence of striker Fernando Torres has been detrimental to the club's campaign this season.

The Reds' striker has had to deal with injury on multiple occasions this term, and even played through the pain barrier to help his side in a number of games.

But the Merseyside club made an early exit from the Champions League and were ousted from both domestic Cup competitions, as the fight for fourth place heated up in the Premier League.

Now, the Kop boss has admitted his side have sorely missed their top striker.

"In every team if you lose your top scorer, your striker, for a lot of games it will cost you," Benitez is quoted by The Mirror as saying.

"We lost a lot of players at the same time, and players with quality—Daniel Agger, Glen Johnson, Yossi Benayoun, Steven Gerrard, and Torres—all the same time.

"For any team, it is difficult to manage without players, numbers, and quality. It is even more difficult if you lose your striker, who can be such a difference."

Liverpool will miss "El Nino" again on Thursday, when they play Romanian outfit Unirea Urziceni in a Europa League fixture at Anfield.

"We want to be successful, but we want to be in the top four. We want both, and clearly I have confidence we will be in the Champions League again," he said.

"We know what a difference late goals and bad luck can make, but I think our group was more difficult than people expected, and also we deserved more.

"But you have to accept the situation and move forward. As soon as we knew we were out, we had to be ready for the Europa League and do our best, because everyone loves winning trophies."