Last season saw the Merseysiders enjoy their best ever Premier League finish, with 86 points and just two defeats.

The Anfield aces did the double over Manchester United but it was not enough to prevent Sir Alex Ferguson's men from chalking up a hat-trick of titles to equal Liverpool's record of 18 top-flight crowns.

However Benitez, who celebrates five years in the Anfield hotseat on Tuesday, knows his side have made significant progress to close the gap and hopes the foundations have now been laid for an era of domination.

He told the official club website: "If you analyse the number of points, 86, you see it's a record for the club in the Premier League.

"We are going forward, we are progressing. For the future this is good news and hopefully this is the beginning of something important.

"In terms of the consistency of the team we've been really good. The squad is better, the mentality is very good and the players are competing for their positions."

Benitez believes the strength of Manchester United's squad was crucial in them claiming the title, with little to choose between the respective starting XI's.

He added: "We won against them twice this year. We've shown we can beat anyone. Clearly we have enough quality in the team. The squad is good but against us United had Giggs, Scholes and Berbatov on the bench.

"Each year is different but we are closer, we have more confidence, and the experience of this year will be good for next season. You never know but it seems like we are reducing the gap."

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