Rafa on draw and Nando sub

Rafa Benitez believes Liverpool can still qualify for the Champions League despite dropping two valuable points with a 1-1 draw in Birmingham.

Video: Gerrard fires at St Andrews>>

Steven Gerrard had given the Reds a lead two minutes after the break at St Andrews but an unmarked Liam Ridgewell quickly levelled with a tap in at the far post.

The result means Benitez and co trail Man City by four points having played a game more.

However, with five fixtures remaining in the most unpredictable Barclays Premier League season for years, Benitez is sure there are more twists ahead.

"Yes, it's true it's going to be difficult," said the gaffer. "But we have to keep going. There are still a lot of points to play for. We were talking about maybe winning six games in a row but we knew maybe we could have one draw. Now we have to win five.

"We didn't have much margin for error and now we have less margin but that's football, and (how much margin we have) still depends on the other teams.

"We have to believe we can win games and have confidence that they will lose."

Benitez felt his side deserved to do something none of the other top six have done this season - win at St Andrews.

He said: "No, it's not a good result because we deserved to win.

"We had a very good chance in the first half and a lot of them in the second half. We knew it was a tough place to come but it's a pity, especially because we deserved to win even with some players tired after Thursday."

Quizzed on the substitution of Fernando Torres 20 minutes after the break, Benitez added: "He was exhausted. He had some ice to protect his knee but he was tired, like some of the other players who played on Thursday.

"Fernando knew we needed to win and he knew he was tired. All the players want to be on the pitch and make a difference but you could see Ngog with fresh legs, and also Babel, making a big difference in the last few minutes.

"You have to manage and I think Ngog did a very good job. We needed fresh legs, that was very clear."

One major disappointment for Benitez was the defending for Ridgewell's goal.

"Always when you concede a goal you have to be disappointed but especially this kind. We defended very poorly, very bad."

Video: Extended highlights>>