Reds return to winning ways

Liverpool gave their Premier League title tilt the kiss of life as they recorded a 4-1 win over Portsmouth at Anfield.

Pompey suffer comprehensive defeat

Liverpool gave their Premier League title tilt the kiss of life as they recorded a 4-1 win over Portsmouth at Anfield. The Reds were keen to erase the memory of back-to-back league defeats to Reading and Manchester United and it showed as a Yossi Benayoun strike was accompanied by a Sylvain Distin own goal and a brace from Fernando Torres as Pompey were only capable of responding through Benjani Mwaruwari. The Reds started brightly and were rewarded on 13 minutes when Harry Kewell took advantage of an injury to Portsmouth right-back Glen Johnson, who was off the pitch receiving treatment, to centre for Benayoun and the Israeli calmly steered in. Pompey were again ruing their luck three minutes later when Dirk Kuyt fed Torres inside the penalty area and Sol Campbell was unfortunate to see his clearance hit his helpless defensive partner Distin and deflect in past goalkeeper David James. At the interval Pompey manager Harry Redknapp introduced Nwankwo Kanu and it was the Nigerian who crafted a lifeline on 57 minutes when he crossed to the far post for Benjani to take a touch before smashing in a half volley from close range. However, Torres then pounced on a ricochet to roll in a third on 67 minutes after James had saved well at the feet of substitute Ryan Babel and the Spaniard then put the game to bed with a composed finish five minutes from time. Javier Mascherano, Kewell and Torres all had half chances before Liverpool's pressure paid off in the 13th minute.

Confidence

Midfielder Benayoun gave James no chance with a superb volley from 20 yards after being set up by Kewell. Liverpool took confidence from making the breakthrough and extended their lead three minutes later. Dirk Kuyt and Torres linked up with the Spanish striker trying to set up his team-mate. Distin, though, got his bearings wrong and the ball came off his leg and past his own goalkeeper James. Portsmouth were struggling to get into the match and Steven Gerrard, who had recovered from a bout of sickness, rifled a shot wide of the post in the 21st minute. Benayoun then raced away down the right in the 37th minute. He cut inside and tried his luck on goal only for his effort to find the side netting. Portsmouth's Pedro Mendes sent a shot in from distance on the stroke of the half but saw it go wide of the post. Papa Bouba Diop almost pulled a goal back a minute into the second half but his effort went marginally over the bar. Hermann Hreidarsson then sent a header wide following a free-kick on the right from Lauren after 53 minutes. Liverpool responded and Gerrard tried to release Torres two minutes later. Torres could not get a decent touch but the ball broke to Kewell who rattled a shot wide. Portsmouth pulled a goal back in the 57th minute with Benjani's ninth of the season. He steered his effort wide of Reina from inside the area after being set up by Kanu to stun Liverpool.

Inspiration

There was a scare though for Portsmouth in the 60th minute when James fumbled a header from Sami Hyypia after a free-kick from Gerrard. However they were able to scramble the ball away. Kewell then showed some inspiration to race forward in the 67th minute to send a dipping shot from distance over the top. Liverpool regained their two-goal advantage a minute later following a glorious pass from Mascherano to substitute Ryan Babel. Babel's effort was parried by James only for Torres to find the corner from the rebound. Torres added to his tally in the 84th minute and made it 4-1 to Liverpool with his 14th goal of the season, a clinical finish after he had been set up by Gerrard.

Liverpool	Team Statistics	Portsmouth
4	Goals	1
2	1st Half Goals	0
5	Shots on Target	2
7	Shots off Target	6
2	Blocked Shots	1
3	Corners	1
14	Fouls	14
5	Offsides	2
1	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
82.8	Passing Success	75
21	Tackles	24
81	Tackles Success	83.3
60.5	Possession	39.5
43.5	Territorial Advantage	56.5