Liverpool needed a late Steven Gerrard penalty to get all three points against Tony Adams' stubborn Portsmouth side at Anfield.
League leaders roll on as Adams loses first game in charge
Liverpool needed a late Steven Gerrard penalty to get all three points against Tony Adams' stubborn Portsmouth side at Anfield.
Papa Bouba Diop's crazy handball 14 minutes from time enabled Reds skipper Gerrard to finally beat David James from the spot to give the unbeaten hosts an eighth win out of ten games and maintain their three-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
Although dominant in possession, Liverpool only made James make a couple of good saves and as they probed against Pompey's well-manned defence it looked like they would follow up Sunday's superb win at Chelsea with a tame draw at home.
After Dirk Kuyt had struck a post early on, Gerrard had stung James' palms and Sami Hyypia's header fizzed wide, Rafa Benitez's men were looking for some inspiration and when Diop threw his hands up from a corner Gerrard did the rest from the spot.
Early pressure
It was all Liverpool early on and after some concerted pressure Kuyt came close to opening the scoring after ten minutes, when he fired a low shot across James from the edge of the box only for the ex-Liverpool man to tip the ball onto the far post.
The Reds continued to dominate the opening 25 minutes of possession without really testing James again, and on 26 minutes Pompey could have stolen the lead through Diop.
The big African was unmarked seven yards out when Sean Davis' cross deflected into his path, but although he put plenty of power into his header it was directed straight at Pepe Reina.
Kuyt had another chance on the half-hour when he fired just over from the edge of the box, and at least half of Anfield thought he had put their men ahead six minutes before half time when he rippled the net.
Gerrard marauded forward and slipped in Kuyt who turned and hit it early but only found the side netting of James' near post.
Gerrard himself stung James' palms just before half time with a rasping low drive, and the goalkeeper's parry back into the danger area luckily fell for Noe Pamarot instead of the lurking Kuyt.
Alvaro Arbeloa almost found a way through on the stroke of half time when his well struck curler drifted just wide of James' far post with the keeper struggling, but the Reds ended the half frustrated and level.
Frustration
Liverpool's first chance in the second half did not come until the hour mark when Hyypia nearly marked his 300th Premier League appearance for the Reds with a goal when his near post header flashed wide.
Substitute Yossi Benayoun then got clean through for the first time in the match but as he took his time sorting out his feet Sylvain Distin recovered to block his shot.
Then with time ticking away Diop rose with Hyypia but led with both arms and when the ball struck one of them referee Steve Tanner had no hesitation pointing to the spot.
Skipper Gerrard took the responsibility and although the giant frame of James went the right way it was too hard and low into the corner for him to get near to.
Liverpool then had a couple of nervy moments late on - most notably when John Utaka was inches away from a free header seven yards out, but they hung on to claim all three points.
After Sunday's Stamford Bridge win there was always a danger of coming down to earth with a bump but another three points keeps Liverpool on top of the pile and keeps the title talk going on Merseyside.
| Liverpool |
Team Statistics |
Portsmouth |
| 1 |
Goals |
0 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
1 |
| 10 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
| 4 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 7 |
Corners |
1 |
| 13 |
Fouls |
13 |
| 4 |
Offsides |
5 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 84 |
Passing Success |
78.2 |
| 29 |
Tackles |
31 |
| 79.3 |
Tackles Success |
71 |
| 56.9 |
Possession |
43.1 |
| 60.1 |
Territorial Advantage |
39.9 |
|
