LIVERPOOL 1, DEBRECEN 0

Jamie Carragher admitted Liverpool were a long way from their best in beating Debrecen 1-0 tonight at Anfield in their Champions League opener.

Dirk Kuyt got the only goal of the game just before half-time, taking advantage of a goalkeeping error to prod home the ball after Vukasin Poleksic failed to hold Fernando Torres' shot.

Liverpool struggled to create clear chances, but Carragher was happy simply to take the three points.

"We didn't play well, we know that, just the 1-0 tonight, but we wanted to get a win as quick as we could to qualify from the group," he said on ITV.

"It's not our best performance but we got the result."

But despite the close scoreline, boss Rafael Benitez was happy with his team's effort.

"We had three or four good chances and if we take our chances it would be easier," he said. "But it's 1-0, and the most important thing is to get the three points.

"In the first half, we had two or three very good chances and in the second half it's the same. People didn't know what to expect because they didn't know the other team, but they showed they're not bad."

Kuyt was asked to play behind Torres with Steven Gerrard dropped deeper into midfield, and the Dutchman was forced to admit the formation did not produce enough openings.

"It was difficult to create chances," he said. "In the first half we should have scored more than one goal to make the game a lot easier.

"Like Jamie said, it's not the best performance, but we got the clean sheet and won the game. That's the most important thing in the first game."

Kuyt, who spent most of last season playing on the right wing for Liverpool, added that he was happy to switch position to wherever Benitez asks him to go.

"It doesn't matter which position I play if I can be important for the team," he said.

"I have played (in the middle) before. Last year I played most of the time on the right, and this year most of the time behind Fernando. Maybe on Saturday it will be a different position, but that is up to the manager."

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