Joe Cole's first half goal gave Chelsea a 1-0 win over Liverpool in the first leg of their all-English Champions League semifinal at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
The England winger swept in from six meters from Didier Drogba's cross on 29 minutes after the Ivorian had proved too strong for Daniel Agger, beating the defender before firing low into Cole's path.
It was only Cole's second goal of his injury-plagued season -- and the first time Chelsea had scored against Liverpool in five Champions League meetings.
"I am happy with the players, I think the performance was top," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho told Sky Sports.
"The first half performance was superb... we had five or six great chances to score. The second half was different, Liverpool attacked more... we still had chances on the counter-attack."
Liverpool, who left top scorer Peter Crouch on the bench until early in the second half, threatened sporadically.
"It was (a game of) two different parts today. The first half we were not controlling... the second half a little bit better but when you play against Chelsea you know they like to counter-attack," said Benitez.
"We will see at Anfield... we need to score one goal and see what happens."
Manchester United or AC Milan meet the eventual winners in the final in Athens on May 23. United won the first leg 3-2 at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
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