Liverpool romped to a comfortable 4-1 win over Portsmouth at Anfield, as the Reds moved to within a point of Tottenham for the fourth spot.

By Vincent Lai

Fernando Torres had a brace for Liverpool, with Ryan Babel and Alberto Aquilani adding the rest of the goal. Nadir Belhadj scored a consolation goal for the visitors in the dying moments of the game.

Liverpool:

Pepe Reina: 5

The Spaniard was a little shaky early on when Portsmouth did attack, but was left with almost nothing to do after the first goal as the action stayed in Pompey's half.

Glen Johnson (off 70'): 6

Improved after the first goal was scored and overlapped constantly to support Gerrard, Aquilani and Rodriguez. Johnson was a bundle of energy on the right flank.

Jamie Carragher: 5

The former England international was caught off-guard by Piquionne's pace in the first 20 minutes of the game, but settled into the game. Carragher was annoyed beyond belief when he was late on the rotation to cover for Kelly as Belhaj scored a consolation goal for Portsmouth.

Daniel Agger: 6

Carra's defensive partner didn't have much to do in the majority of the game as the Reds dominated possession and camped in the Portsmouth half. Still, the Dane did pace Piquionne well and forced the Frenchman to shoot wide on a couple of occasions.

Emiliano Insua: 6

The young left-back, though not as explosive as Johnson, did provide some width on the left flank and gave the Liverpool midfield some options when Portsmouth played ten men behind the ball.

Alberto Aquilani: 8

Aquilani got himself on the scoresheet for his first Liverpool goal, hammering the Reds' third past Ashdown in the 32^nd minute with his left foot after some great interplay from Torres and Gerrard to get the ball into the Pompey box. The Italian pressed on for his claim to start as he released Torres on a through pass for the Spaniard to score the Reds' fourth.

Javier Mascherano: 6

Chased the ball around a little early in the game, but had little to do after the first goal was scored as all he was required to do was spread the play since Portsmouth gave away the ball with regularity as the game wore on.

Maxi Rodriguez: 8

Liverpool's latest signing was the provider for the Reds' first goal as he squared the ball for Torres to poke home after pouncing on the ball following Gerrard's block on Ashdown. The man known as La Fiera in his native Argentina played like a man on fire as he created many chances for the Reds.

Steven Gerrard (off 73'): 8

The Reds captain was a livewire from the kickoff and he was everywhere - running the channels, tracking back to defend and linking the defence to attack. Liverpool went ahead in the 26^th minute deservedly after Gerrard closed down Jamie Ashdown and deflected the goalkeepers clearance to Rodriguez, who set up Torres for the first goal.

Ryan Babel: 7

Scored Liverpool's second goal as he pounced on Torres' lay-off, poking the ball past Ashdown from 15 yards. Babel ran the flanks with purpose, and used his pace to give Finnan and Wilson fits on the wings.

Fernando Torres (off 80'): 9

We were worried that Portsmouth had Torres' number as the Spaniard seemed subdued in the early going, but the striker came to life after scoring Liverpool's first goal, assisting Babel to score the second, and was part of the build-up for the third. He continued his fine form in the second half, scoring Liverpool's fourth from Aquilani's through pass, as he controlled the ball superbly in a tight Portsmouth penalty area.

Subs:

Yossi Benayoun (on 73'): 6

Made a few decent passes in his cameo.

David Ngog (on 80'): 5

Didn't get much time to shine.

Martin Kelly (on 70'): 5

Tried to strut his stuff in 20 minutes, and even had a shot on goal from the right wing, but he just didn't seem to cut it in his time on the field, as he let Belhadj get past him for Pompey's consolation goal. May need first-team football out on loan.

Portsmouth:

Jamie Ashdown: 3

A nightmare evening for the reserve keeper, who has played just 37 games in his six years with the club. Ashdown failed to clear the ball in the 26^th minute, slamming the ball into Gerrard which resulted in the first goal and the opening of the Red floodgates. The goalie then let in another two goals before the end of the first half (though those weren't totally his fault) before letting in another in the second half.

Steve Finnan: 4

The former Liverpool right-back had a decent start to the game, but it went downhill after the 26^th minute and Finnan was continually beat by Babel and Torres on the flanks.

Marc Wilson: 4

Didn't fare any better than Finnan, as Torres decided to tease him twice on the left-flank, and totally bamboozled the left-back on both occasions.

Ricardo Rocha: 4

The Portuguese defender was shaky at the start of the match, and was pretty much shaken after it as Liverpool played as though he wasn't there. Still, not getting sent off in this match was a victory for Rocha.

Hermann Hreidarsson (on 76'): 4

The man has played in five previous relegation battles, and his horrible defence against Liverpool proved why he's always drafted into such teams.

Michael Brown: 5

Tried to hang with the likes of Gerrard and Aquilani in the midfield, but his heart and grit just weren't enough to bridge the gap in class as the Liverpool midfield overran him.

Papa Bouba Diop (off 64'): 5

Didn't do any better than Brown.

Jamie O'Hara (off 86'): 5

The on-loan midfielder sparkled in the early going, feeding Piquionne but the Frenchman shot the ball wide. Spent the rest of the game defending and clearing the ball as Pompey failed to hold on to the ball to do anything meaningful with it.

Aruna Dindane: 5

Played in a more reserved role that he usually does, as he was deployed more as a wing-back. Still, Dindane had some flashes of brilliance on the right-flank as he used his acceleration to trouble Insua and Agger.

Frederic Piquionne: 6

The young Frenchman managed to ruffle Liverpool's feathers in the game with his pace, but for all his million-dollar moves with the ball, his ten-cent finishes left a lot to be desired as his team truly needs goals to beat the drop.

Nadir Belhadj: 6

Scored Pompey's consolation goal in the dying minutes, annoying Jamie Carragher to no end about not getting a clean sheet.

Subs:

Aaron Mokoena (on 64'): 5

A like-for-like substitution for Diop, and it didn't make any difference.

Quincy Owusu-Abeyie (on 76'): 5

Showed a little pace and nothing else.

Danny Webber (on 86'): NA

Couldn't show his skills in his short time on the field.