Dalglish wins first game at Anfield since Reds return

It hardly ranked as a goal Kenny Dalglish would have claimed with any pride in his playing days, but he was more than happy to accept a gift offering from Fulham defender John Pantsil in his new role as Liverpool manager at Anfield.

Liverpool had seen a sixth-minute effort from Fernando Torres ruled out by a dubious offside decision and were beginning to despair of a breakthrough after having two further goal attempts thwarted by brilliant reflex saves from stand-in keeper David Stockdale.

But they were given a helping hand when they needed it most, as Pantsil put through his own goal to give Liverpool a 52nd-minute winner and put them 7th in the Barclays Premier League.

Torres' deflected shot cannoned back of a post and led to a scramble near the Fulham line that ended with the hapless Pantsil slicing the ball past the grounded Stockdale.

Earlier on, Anfield was given a reminder of Danny Murphy's prowess from set-pieces after Martin Skrtel clattered into Andy Johnson on Fulham's left flank in only the fourth minute. If the Kop was hushed for a moment, it was with good cause, as former Liverpool midfielder Murphy curled the resulting free-kick into the area with customary precision, only for Aaron Hughes to glance a header narrowly wide.

There is a zest about Liverpool that was missing during Roy Hodgson's troubled reign though, and they soon had Fulham concentrating on matters at the other end. Indeed, there should have been more tangible evidence of a revival in Fernando Torres' fortunes, just two minutes later.

Liverpool's £21million record signing appears to be responding to Dalglish's input, after cutting a sullen figure under Hodgson, and looked to have added to his scoring tally after being sent clear by Raul Meireles.

Torres calmly slotted the chance past the advancing David Stockdale, only for the celerations to be cut short by the a marginal of offside decisions.

Fulham may be missing Mark Schwarzer, while he is away on international duty with Australia, but Stockdale showed himself a capable deputy with a flying 11th-minute save from Meireles' glancing header.

Martin Kelly supplied the cross, and Liverpool's right-back created more danger seconds later, with a

delivery that persuaded Torres to launch himself into an attempted scissor kick. He connected with nothing other than thin air, but Dalglish will not have minded. It was more evidence that his lethal frontrunner was in the mood to make amends for his sluggish start to the season.

Hearteningly for Dalglish, the apparent eagerness to try something different was not confined to Torres.

When Glen Johnson cut in from the left in the 25th minute, there was no hesitation about letting fly from 25 yards. It took another outstanding save from Stockdale to prevent a goal, as he stretched to tip it over.

There had been little scope for Fulham to think of anything other than trying to stay on terms, but a rare breakaway almost produced an even rarer goal for a side who have failed to score on their previous four visits to Anfield.

Former Everton striker Johnson reached the by-line on the left and cut the ball back to an unmarked Mousa Dembele, whose shot was grasped on the line by Pepe Reina.

It was a reminder that Liverpool could ill-afford to switch off, and that they could be punished for failing to turn so much pressure into a goal.

Even so, it must have been gratifying for Dalglish to see his side building on their victory at Wolves.

He had warned Mark Hughes' sides tend to be hard to break down, but he might not have expected such stout resistance against a Liverpool team fresh from firing three goals past Mick McCarthy's team and full of attacking vigour.

There was little to suggest the defensive wall was about to be breached, despite Steven Gerrard's best efforts on his return from suspension.

The Liverpool skipper twisted athletically in the 50th minute to not only keep the ball in near the corner flag but whip in a cross that Maxi Rodriguez fired against a defender.

The breakthrough arrived a minute later. After intercepting a pass by Clint Dempsey, Dirk Kuyt teed up Torres for a drive that deflected off Brede Hangeland and hit the inside of a post.

In the scramble that followed, Pantsil only succeeded in bundling the ball over his own line.

Source: Daily Mail

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