Liverpool Back In The Hunt?

Written by Gareth Freeman, a sports writer promoting Irish racing and racing tips for today. 

Tuesday night’s win over Aston Villa may not have been the best game of football ever played but on that particular night the result was all that counted. Neither side played particularly well and the closest we came to a goal in normal time was probably a couple of penalty shouts that were waved away.

However, deep into stoppage time Fernando Torres popped up with a crucial goal and wrote himself into Liverpool folklore. His 50th Premier League goal saw him become the fastest player in the Reds history to reach that mark in the Premier League (72 games) and gave Rafael Benitz and co a massive boost in terms of a Champions League place.

The festive period overall was a decent time for Benitez. The loss to Pompey was as upsetting as it was shocking but since then Liverpool have recorded back to back wins over Villa and Wolves and have closed the gap at the top. The Reds now lie four points adrift of Tottenham in fourth, who are the next league opponents on January 10. Following the victory over Villa the game against Spurs is now massive and Liverpool have a great opportunity to push on and break into the Champions League places.

Another bonus has been the emergence of Alberto Aquilani. The Italian has now played in the last two games and against Wolves especially looked a quality player. He perhaps hasn’t set the world on fire just yet but it can take time to settle into the Premier League and with time he could be a massive boost for Liverpool’s European hopes.

Steven Gerrard has had his fair share of criticism so far this season but he did put in a great display against Wolves. No one, aside from Torres, shone against Villa in all fairness but for a team to play badly and still beat one of their nearest rivals is not necessarily a bad thing. Captain Gerrard believes it will be difficult but remains confident the club can secure a top-four spot.

He said: "We've virtually got everyone back fit now so there are no excuses now. We need to go on a run of winning games.

"Can we secure a top-four spot? It is going to be difficult. There are a lot of fantastic teams about. I am sure teams will spend in January.

"It will be a race to the very end and we've got to make sure we are in it."