Rafa Benítez gambled and won as Liverpool moved back up to fifth with a victory that was stylish as well as convincing. Either throwing caution to the wind or realising that he could afford to take a few risks against the bottom-placed club, Benítez backed up Fernando Torres with Alberto Aquilani as well as Ryan Babel and was rewarded when all three made it on to the score sheet.
Perhaps a comfortable stroll against a team with Portsmouth’s problems does not represent a turning point or even a return to business as usual for Liverpool but though at least the respite was welcome after two successive defeats and a truly grim performance at Wigan. For an eerie first half-hour until the goals arrived Anfield was noticeably quiet. By the end there were not only songs to sing and spontaneous bursts of applause for crisp passing moves but Aquilani’s first goal in English football. “He is a good player and that will increase his confidence but we had many good players tonight,” Benítez said.
Liverpool’s win would have been more emphatic still had Stuart Attwell awarded a penalty when Glen Johnson was scythed down by Nadir Belhadj midway through the second half, though equally Liverpool would have been down to 10 men had the referee spotted Steven Gerrard’s elbow on Brown, an assault that may jeopardise his involvement against Manchester United on Sunday should the official be invited to review his decision. Attwell penalised Gerrard for flooring Brown yet could not have seen the nature of the foul, otherwise a red card would have been produced. Benítez said he had not seen the incident.
Unusually poor delivery by Gerrard saw Liverpool waste a succession of free-kicks and corners in the opening minutes,, and Torres might have had an early penalty when Ricardo Rocha appeared to handle his shot in the area, though there were signs of growing understanding in a reshaped midfield. Aquilani started to link with Maxi Rodríguez and both were involved in setting up Gerrard for a shot that flew high into the Kop. Then the Italian was unlucky when his first-time volley missed by inches after Rodríguez’s pass dropped over his shoulder.
It took a double mistake by the reserve goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown to open the floodgates for Liverpool. First his weak clearance was returned by Gerrard, then he dallied too long over Rocha’s backpass and allowed the Liverpool captain to charge down his next attempt. Rodríguez unselfishly squared to Torres and the home side were in front. Two minutes later Liverpool doubled their lead and effectively killed the game, something of a rarity in these parts nowadays, when Torres picked up Johnson’s cross at the far post and comprehensively beat Steve Finnan to allow Babel to check round his marker and score.
Torres was again the provider for Aquilani’s goal, this time with a neat backheel. Once Gerrard’s dummy had wrongfooted the defence it was simple for Aquilani to slide in a shot from close to the penalty spot. “We went to sleep for seven minutes,” Avram Grant said after losing to Liverpool for the first time. “We made a mistake but you need to be awake all the time.”
Liverpool could have had more before the interval, with Torres striking a post and Gerrard putting a good chance wide, though Portsmouth showed character in keeping going. Frédéric Piquionne in particular was a handful for the home defence, on one occasion being rather harshly recalled after breaking clear from Daniel Agger for what appeared minimal contact. Then, as half-time approached, he cut in powerfully from the right and rolled a shot narrowly past Pepe Reina’s right-hand upright.
Ashdown partially atoned for his first-half errors by denying Gerrard and Babel in quick succession at the start of the second half though, not to be outdone, Reina produced an splendidly instinctive save, throwing out a hand to deflect the ball over the bar when Michael Brown seemed certain to score. The Liverpool goalkeeper produced one of the evening’s most inspired pieces of distribution, setting Babel free down the left wingwith a kick from his hands of perfect weight and accuracy. Babel galloped eagerly into acres of space, beyond Finnan, then spoiled the moment by crossing to no one in particular. It was not a total surprise. Liverpool were much improved, complete transformations take a little longer.
They scored their fourth with a typical finish from Torres, picked out by a precise pass from the impressive Aquilani, before Portsmouth gained a not undeserved consolation goal in the 89th minute, Belhadj tapping in after Piquionne had volleyed his cross back across goal to leave Reina furious at being denied a clean sheet. The question now is how much Liverpool’s teamsheet at Old Trafford will resemble this one.
Premier LeagueLiverpoolPortsmouthPaul Wilsonguardian.co.uk
