Andros Townsend was the hero as 10-man Everton overcame a scare against Championship side Huddersfield Town.
The Toffees advanced to the Carabao Cup third-round thanks to a 2-1 victory in Yorkshire.
But it wasn't an easy assignment for the visitors, who lost a player when Moise Kean was shown a straight red-card.
With the scores locked at 1-1 following goals from Alex Iwobi and Tom Lees, Huddersfield thought they went ahead through Matty Pearson.
But the goal was overturned for offside against Fraizer Campbell.
Kean was then given his marching orders after pushing Sorba Thomas.
The Terriers had all the momentum as the home crowd roared them on to cause an upset.
Townsend spoiled the party however, with the summer signing rifling home Andre Gomes' cross with eleven minutes remaining.
Speaking after the game, manager Benitez said: "We are fighting for our club. That is very clear and again today the fans showed their support. That is the main thing for me.
"We created chances and took control. They had more belief after they scored the goal. They were pushing after that and then the sending-off changed things."
On Kean's red card: "He is a young player and has to learn from it. The reaction from the players was great and you could see the reaction from the fans."
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