They left it late, but their sixth win in seven games kept Liverpool in the hunt for a Champions League place, as Charlton were beaten 2-1 at Anfield.
The performance was much like many of the previous games we've seen at Anfield this season. Dull, uninspired, workmanlike, disappointing. It's debatable whether the reds deserved all three points from this, but what will have pleased Gerard Houllier is that they kept plugging away trying to make something happen, and in the end that’'s exactly what they did.
Coming off the back of the energy sapping Merseyside derby, the players deserve credit for sticking to their task, and coming from a goal behind to win at Anfield for the first time since... well I can't remember, but it's a hell of a long time.
Milan Baros was left on the bench, as Emile Heskey somehow managed to keep his place despite an awful showing at Goodison, with El Hadji Diouf returning to the right wing. Sami Hyypia was back from suspension to replace the injured Igor Biscan alongside Djimi Traore at the heart of the defence.
This was a game of few chances. The first half saw the reds offer little threat to Dean Kiely's goal, whilst the visitors enjoyed some good possession but failed to test Dudek. Liverpool were relying heavily on Michael Owen, who looked in great form once again.
The reds passed the ball about quite well in the opening period, but other than a couple of long range efforts from Riise and Diouf, Kiely was largely untroubled. Murphy and Gerrard were involved heavily, but couldn't provide Owen with the service he was looking for. Heskey was.. well Heskey. He may as well not have been on the field, but then what's new?
He wasn't on the field come the start of the second half, presumably withdrawn through injury, as there's never any other reason for him being subbed. Anyway, we were a goal down befor Baros had even touched the ball, as an horrendous blunder by Traore presented Bartlett with the simplest of chances to give the visitors the lead.
Djimi had been impeccable up until that point, and it's hard not to feel sympathy for the lad. He's a brilliant defender, and no-one ever gets the better of him. Any problem he has, is always self inflicted. He can be sloppy in possession, and can take too much time on the ball. That's what happened today, and he paid a heavy price.
However, this is a problem which is easily rectified, and will surely be overcome with experience. The fact that in defensive situations, Traore is virtually unbeatable means that he has every chance of developing into a top centre half. Houllier has great belief in him, and it is unliklely to be shaken by this error.
The reds responded instantly with some good attacking play, and Baros did more with his first two touches of the ball than Heskey had done in 45 minutes. Milan does what Heskey used to. He receives the ball with his back to goal, uses his strength to turn and hold off defenders and runs down the sides. Why Heskey can't do this anymore I have no idea, but the simple fact is that he doesn't, and doesn't deserve to keep Milan on the bench.
Baros and Owen were looking very dangerous, but the service was badly lacking. Murphy got worse as the game wore on, and looked very heavy legged. Not surprising, considering he's played in virtually every game this season. Murphy has been our player of the season by a mile in my opinion, but there have been occasional games where he has looked tired, and this was one of them.
Gerrard and Hamann weren't at their best games either, although Stevie was the one trying to drive us forward and make things happen. In that respect, it was fitting that he would be rewarded with the winning goal.
Baros and Gerrard both tested Kiely from distance, but Charlton were finding it very easy to hold onto their lead. The crowd became frustrated, and each misplaced pass was greeted with groans and moans from the crowd.
Hope was running out, but a surging run down the right from Baros (of which there were many) resulted in a corner, and when Charlton failed to clear, Hyypia poked the ball home. Game on.
Charlton came straight back, and forced a series of corners, from one of which Jason Euell forced Dudek into an unbelievable save. Come the end of the season, it may prove to be a defining moment.
Substitutes Smicer and Cheyrou (on for Murphy and Diouf) both made a difference, but it was Gerrard who would ultimately win it for his side, with a strange goal which I'm still not sure how it went in. He did brilliantly to trick his way past two defenders on the left edge of the box, before firing in a tame shot which looked like it would be dealt with comfortably by Kiely. The next thing we knew, it was nestling in the bottom corner.
Having not seen it on TV yet, that's all I can say about it for now, but it sparked joyous scenes in L4, including the supposedly injured Dudek sprinting the length of the field to join in the piley on by the corner flag!!
It's not often the reds come from behind to win a game, and with Newcastle dropping two more points at home, this could prove to be a massive win in terms of securing a top four spot.
Given how poor we've been for most of the season, it seems incredible that we are only two points off third place. Just how has that happened? We've hardly played well all season long, but have ground out enough results to make CL qualification a realistic target. With games against West Brom and Man City to come, and Newcastle currently in free fall, the final day at the Bridge could effectively be a third place playoff game.
TEAM: Jerzy Dudek; Jamie Carragher, Sami Hyypia, Djimi Traore, John Arne Riise; El Hadji Diouf (Vladimir Smicer), Steven Gerrard, Didi Hamann, Danny Murphy (Bruno Cheyrou); Emile Heskey (Milan Baros), Michael Owen:
