- Benayoun (13), Distin (16 og), Torres (67), Torres (85)
- Benjani (57)
- Date:2007-12-22
- Kick-off:15:00
- Venue:Anfield
- Attendance:43071
- Referee:Riley, M
Live Commentary
90mins
FULL TIME: Pompey were given a glimmer of hope when Benjani scored, but a Torres brace secured the victory for Liverpool who recovered brilliantly from their two successive defeats.
87mins
Mattew Taylor strikes an ambitious free-kick from over 35-yards out and unsurprisingly fails to trouble Reina.
86mins
Torres is given a standing ovation as he is substituted for Lucas Leiva
84mins
LIVERPOOL 4 - 1 PORTSMOUTH: Gerrard's cushioned header picks out FERNANDO TORRES who nets his second of the game with an emphatic volley.
81mins
The game seems all but over now and both sides seem to be settling for the scoreline.
79mins
Benjani is picked out in a decent position but the linesman flags for offside.
77mins
Babel bursts forward and curls an inviting cross into the box, but it is headed clear at the near post by Kranjcar.
75mins
Harry Kewell receives a rapturous applause as he leaves the field for Fabio Aurelio.
75mins
Torres has looked sharp all day and gets behind the defence again, but is pulled back for offside.
73mins
Sulley Muntari makes way for Matthew Taylor
71mins
Everyone is trying their luck now, with Mascherano letting fly from long range only to send his shot straight at James.
69mins
After a slight uncertain spell, the home side are back on top of the game now and look as though they will see this one through.
67mins
LIVERPOOL 3 - 1 PORTSMOUTH: A fine pass from Mascherano picks out Babel. The Dutch winger' shot is turned away by James, but only as far as FERNANDO TORRES who keeps his cool to slot the ball home.
65mins
Kewell strikes a shot sweetly from 30-yards but it sails over the crossbar.
63mins
The scorer of Liverpool's first goal, Yossi Benayoun, leaves the field to be replaced by Ryan Babel
61mins
The game has gone a little quiet again and Benitez looks as though he will look to the bench for inspiration.
59mins
A Gerrard free-kick finds the head of Hypia who forces a fine save out of James from 6-yards.
57mins
Benjani's ninth goal of the season has put his side right back in contention and the travelling fans are making all the noise now.
55mins
LIVERPOOL 2 - 1 PORTSMOUTH: Kanu breaks and slots a pass through to BENJANI who easily knocks the ball past Riise and slots the ball home.
53mins
A free-kick picks out Hreidarsson who gets his head to the ball but directs it wide of the mark.
52mins
Another blow for Harry Redknapp as Mendes goes to ground holding his knee after a challenge from Kewell.
50mins
Muntari runs at goal, deciding not to pass to a team-mate and eventually runs into trouble
48mins
Liverpool pick up the ball and and catch Pompey on the break but the final shot from Benayoun is blocked by Distin.
47mins
An encouraging start for the visitors but Diop's shot is sent over the crossbar.
46mins
Let's see if these two former Arsenal players can make a difference, though they may need an early goal to drive them forward.
46mins
Glen Johnson presumably did not fully recover from that earlier injury and makes way for Lauren.
46mins
Nwankwo Kanu replaces John Utaka to make two up-front.
45mins
The sides emerge for the second-half and Harry Redknapp has changed things around a little.
45mins
HALF TIME: Benitez will go in the happier manager at the interval, though expect a better performance from the visitors after Redknapp tries to sort them out.
44mins
Arbeloa is cautioned after a late challenge on Kranjcar.
44mins
Pedro Mendes hits an ambitious effort from long range but drags it wide of Reina's goal.
42mins
The free-kick comes to nothing as Gerrard's cross is cleared by a Pompey defender.
41mins
Liverpool win a free-kick in a dangerous position after a blatant handball from Distin.
39mins
Kuyt strikes a shot wide of the target from the edge of the box.
36mins
Benayoun gets another chance on the edge of the area but this time skews his shot wide. Has the Israli international looked up earlier, he would have seen several team-mates wide open in the box.
34mins
Hermann Hreidarsson picks up a booking for a foul on Benayoun in the centre circle.
32mins
Torres is everywhere today and the opposition players look anxious every time he picks up the ball.
30mins
Muntari urges his side forward as he breaks with the ball, but his final cross is straight into the arms of Reina.
28mins
Gerrard tries to slide a pass through to Kuyt but the striker is not on the same wavelength and the ball runs behind for a goal-kick.
25mins
The game has quietened down now and Liverpool seem to have their foot off the pedal after picking up those two early goals.
23mins
The visitors do not look like getting back in the game at the moment and are not seeing much of the ball.
21mins
Despite being two goals up, the home fans are still quiet inside Anfield.
20mins
Diop picks up the first booking of the game for a rash challenge on Mascherano.
19mins
Gerrard lets fly from just outside the box but fails to find the target.
17mins
Torres is giving the Pompey defence a torrid time at the moment as his side go in search of another goal.
15mins
LIVERPOOL 2 - 0 PORTSMOUTH: Torres starts another move. He looks for a team-mate with a pass, but it hits SYLVAIN DISTIN and finds it's way into the back of the defender's own net.
12mins
LIVERPOOL 1 - 0 PORTSMOUTH: Torres attacks the space where Johnson should be. The ball ends up at the feet of Kewell who finds YOSSI BENAYOUN on the edge of the box to fizz a volley into the back of the net.
10mins
Johnson is moving a little gingerly after that challenge and has to leave the field for treatment.
9mins
Torres bursts down the flank again before ecutting an inviting pass back into the box. Kuyt looks certain to score, but James and Johnson dive at the ball and manage to deflect it behind for a corner.
7mins
Papa Bouba Diop tries his luck from long range but his shot sails straight down the throat of Pepe Reina.
6mins
A Gerrard corner causes all sorts of problems before Harry Kewell gets a shot away but fails to trouble former Liverpool player David James.
4mins
Fernando Torres takes on Glen Johnson on the left flank and his cross is put behind for a corner.
3mins
The home side put together a pacey move started by Steven Gerrard. Sol Campbell's headed clearance falls for Javier Mascherano, but he makes a mess of his shot and almost hits the corner flag.
2mins
Dirk Kuyt runs at goal and rides two challenges before Sulley Muntari puts in a strong tackle.
1mins
The visitors win an early corner and take it short, but the final ball comes to nothing.
1mins
The visitors have possession but Niko Kranjcar is dispossessed on the edge of the Liverpool penalty area. The atmosphere is a little subdued around the stadium at the moment.
0mins
Mike Riley gets the game underway. The odds are firmly stacked against Pompey, who have not won at Anfield in 50 years.
0mins
PORTSMOUTH STARTING XI: James, Johnson, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson, Utaka, Diop, Pedro Mendes, Muntari, Kranjcar, Mwaruwari. SUBS: Begovic, Lauren, Nugent, Taylor, Kanu
0mins
LIVERPOOL STARTING XI: Reina, Arbeloa, Hyypia, Carragher, Riise, Benayoun, Gerrard, Mascherano, Kewell, Torres, Kuyt. SUBS: Itandje, Voronin, Aurelio, Babel, Lucas
0mins
Harry Redknapp on the other hand makes just one change to the side that lost to Spurs - with Hermann Hreidarsson taking Noe Pamarot's place in defence
0mins
Rafa Benitez makes 9 changes to the Liverpool side that lost at Chelsea midweek: Itandje, Hobbs, Sissoko, Alonso and Crouch are all out of the squad, while Itandje, Aurelio, Lucas, Voronin and Crouch drop to the bench.
Match Preview
Liverpool host Portsmouth as they look to get their Premier League campaign back on track after three consecutive domestic defeats.
League reverses to Reading and Manchester United were followed in midweek by a 2-0 Carling Cup quarter-final defeat at Chelsea, which also saw Peter Crouch sent off for a crude lunge on John Obi Mikel.
However, Rafa Benitez was still looking on the bright side, saying: "I am disappointed because we have lost, but the return of Xabi Alonso was positive.
"He played well and the team as a team played really well. I was really pleased with the performance of the team."
Benitez opted to rest big-money summer signing Fernando Torres against the Blues, but he is certain to return against Pompey, with Liverpool's title challenge already starting to fade as they trail leaders Arsenal by ten points.
Captain Steven Gerrard should also be back in action after a stomach upset, but Steve Finnan (calf), Jermaine Pennant (broken leg) and Daniel Agger (foot) are still sidelined.
Pompey arrive on Merseyside with a superb away record, the best in the division, having won six and drawn one of their nine fixtures on the road.
They have struggled at home, but boss Harry Redknapp is upbeat about their challenge for a European place.
He told The News: "We've been playing unbelievably well, we have to remember that it's been an incredible run for us.
"Some people may have got carried away, but those are the people that don't understand the game.
"We know where we are and how well we've done and we want to keep it going. It is where you finish at the end of the season that counts."
Linvoy Primus (knee) is the only long-term injury absentee among the Pompey squad, but hamstring problems are likely to keep Noe Pamarot and Sean Davis on the sidelines against the Reds.
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Match Report
Liverpool gave Portsmouth a footballing lesson as two-goal Fernando Torres helped the Reds romp to a 4-1 victory at Anfield.
With Arsenal extending the gap to 13 points ahead of Liverpool, the home team had to win to have any chance of staying in touch with the league leaders.
The Reds flew out of the box from the opening whistle and set about taking apart a very defensively-minded Pompey side.
The first opportunity of the game came in the tenth minute as Torres set about his business, easily outpacing Sylvain Distin in the box and unselfishly laying the ball to his strike partner Dirk Kuyt.
The Dutchman looked almost certain to score before a well-timed sliding tackle by right-back Glen Johnson took away the chance.
With the home team dictating the pace it was only a matter of time before the deadlock was broken and the Reds' first goal came in the 13th minute with a superb right-foot volley from Yossi Benayoun.
After a surging Torres run into the box a well-timed tackle by Distin placed the ball at the feet of Aussie winger Harry Kewell, whose pin-point cross saw Benayoun hammer home his sixth goal of the season.
The visitors were subject to wave after wave of Liverpool pressure and the home team saw their lead doubled three minutes later through an unlucky own goal by Distin.
An intercepted ball on the halfway line released Kuyt down the right who played into Torres' feet inside the box, but a tackle by Sol Campbell saw the ball hit Distin's knee and fly past a stranded David James.
Even with the middle of the park packed with blue shirts, the visitors still could not deal with the passing and movement of the home side and with only Benjani upfront, the visitors never really troubled the Liverpool backline.
Two changes made by Harry Redknapp at half-time saw the Pompey side change from a 4-5-1 to a more attacking 4-3-3 and the visitors came out all guns blazing.
The replacment of winger John Utaka with the lanky striker Nwankwo Kanu looked a stroke of Redknapp genius as the visitors pulled one back just ten minutes into the second half.
A ball played into the feet of the Nigerian was easily controlled and a good turn and cross found Benjani, whose piece of fancy footwork shifted the ball from his right to left, before he drilled it past a stationary Jose Reina.
In total contrast to the first half, the visitors looked a different team and started to get a foothold back in the game, but the Reds once again showed their class as £25million Torres restored the two-goal cushion with an easy sidefooted finish.
A 30-yard pass from the Javier Mascherano found Ryan Babel inside the box and an on-rushing James could only block the ball with his body, sending it straight to the Spaniard who calmly placed it in the bottom corner.
The game was put well out of Portsmouth's reach when the home side made it 4-1 through a sublime left-foot volley by man-of-the-match Torres.
A ball into the box by Jamie Carragher found Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard's head and a little nod down was perfect for the Spaniard to smash home his second of the game.
Liverpool Team
Portsmouth Team
Liverpool | Portsmouth |
Corners
| 3 | 1 |
Fouls
| 14 | 11 |
Goal attempts
| 14 | 9 |
Shots off target
| 7 | 6 |
Offsides
| 5 | 2 |



89mins
Taylor goes for goal again with another trademark long-range shot and again does not hit the target.