Liverpool find their scoring touch to beat Portsmouth

Liverpool 4 Portsmouth 1. Liverpool rediscovered their scoring touch in a comfortable victory over bottom-placed Portsmouth, a win that will lift the Reds' morale in the crucial few days that lie ahead. On Thursday Liverpool host Lille in the second leg of the Europa League, needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit, and three days later they face on-fire Manchester United.

They had Fernando Torres to thank for easing past Portmouth. The Spaniard scored twice – once in each half – while there were also goals from Alberto Aquilani (his first in a Reds' shirt) and Ryan Babel. The win keeps Liverpool's dream alive of finishing fourth and they now lie fifth on 51 points, one point behind Spurs and one in front of Manchester City, though both clubs have games in hand on their Merseyside rival.

Portsmouth ran out at Anfield in bullish mood, knowing that their 2-0 defeat of Liverpool at Fratton Park in December was one of only five League victories in their calamitous season.

Liverpool seemed there for the taking - there was a positively funereal atmosphere at Anfield, where the smallest league crowd for five years sat in silence during the opening minutes.

But though the south coast club showed some lively touches in the opening exchanges, they went to pieces the moment Torres netted the opening goal on 26 minutes, finally sparking the crowd to life. Babel made it 2-0 a couple of minutes later and Aquilani fired home the third just after the half-hour mark. Making only his fifth start of the season, Aquilani enjoyed his best performance to date for Liverpool since making the £20m move from Roma last summer.

The second half failed to match the tempo of the first, though Torres found the net on 77 minutes and Nadir Belhadj scored a consolation for Portsmouth just before the end. And there was time for Steven Gerrard to lose his temper, the Liverpool skipper appearing to catch  Portsmouth midfielder Michael Brown with a forearm smash.

But all in all a satisfying evening for Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez. "I think it was a good game - we played well, scored four goals and I was pleased with the players," he said afterwards. "The confidence was there and we looked like we could score at any moment. It was important to win this game and it will be important to win every game now until the end of the season."

And although Benetiz acknowledged that tougher tests lie in store for his side, he was delighted to see Liverpool get back on track after a recent dip in form. "The week has started really well so hopefully we can win on Thursday and win on Sunday," he said. "I have confidence we can do that." ·