Kenny Dalglish secured his first home victory in his second spell at the helm as Liverpool beat Fulham 1-0 at Anfield on Wednesday evening.
After failing to cap an impressive first-half showing with a goal, the Reds finally took a deserved lead on 52 minutes when visiting defender John Panstil sliced into his own goal after Fernando Torres's deflected effort had struck the post.
Fulham tried in vain to restore parity in the dying stages, but the hosts were able to see out the contest to claim victory.
The result means Liverpool recorded back-to-back Barclays Premier League wins for the first time since November and elevates them up to seventh in the table.
In the build up to the game, an intriguing stat emerged revealing the last time Fulham had visited Anfield with Dalglish as Reds' boss, they returned to London having been on the end of a 10-0 demolition job in a League Cup tie in 1986.
Few were predicting a repeat scoreline prior to kick-off, though, particularly as the Cottagers had ground out goalless draws on each of their last two visits to L4 and journeyed north on the back of a four-match unbeaten run.
Nonetheless, spirits within the Liverpool camp had been buoyed by arguably their most dominant performance of the season so far at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday - and the return of Steven Gerrard from suspension only served to heighten the feel-good factor around dressing room ahead of kick off.
The skipper was instantly restored straight to the starting XI, replacing the injured Lucas Leiva, as Dalglish opted to make one change to the line-up that had excelled at Molineux.
A tepid start greeted the opening exchanges of the contest, but Liverpool did have the ball in the back of the net inside six minutes, only to see the effort chalked off due to offside as Torres raced onto Raul Meireles's pass and slotted beyond David Stockdale.
TV replays, however, suggested perhaps an incorrect decision had been made.
Undeterred, the Reds set about mounting a sustained spell of pressure on the visitors' goal and after Stockdale had tipped Meireles's glance from a Martin Kelly centre around the post, Martin Skrtel headed into the side netting from the resulting corner.
The Fulham stopper had to extend his frame again on 25 minutes, turning Glen Johnson's dipping drive over the bar after the full-back had stormed his way into a shooting position on the edge of the area.
Liverpool were firmly positioned in the driving seat and Mark Hughes's men had rarely ventured into the opposing half - but they did test Pepe Reina twice in quick succession just shy of the 30-minute mark.
First, Clint Dempsey pounced upon a wayward pass from Martin Kelly and drew a block from the Reds' 'keeper with a stinging low drive.
Then, Mousa Dembele spurned a golden chance to put Fulham into the lead, failing to make proper contact with the ball after Andy Johnson's cutback had bobbled into his path at point-blank range and thus enabling Reina to fend away the attempt.
Back came the hosts and only a fine block by Pantsil prevented Maxi Rodriguez's prod reaching goal following Kelly's cross.
With half-time looming, Fulham were still robustly holding on to their clean sheet, although that could have changed had Torres managed to get his header on target from another Kelly delivery.
However, Liverpool eventually broke the deadlock seven minutes after the restart, albeit in somewhat fortunate fashion.
Kuyt's touch deflected a Dempsey pass into the path of Torres, whose turn and shot from the edge of the box ricocheted against Brede Hangeland and onto the base of the post. With Stockdale grounded, Fulham frantically tried to clear under pressure from the lurking Meireles, but Panstil only succeeded in slicing the ball over his own line.
It was no more than the Reds deserved, though the goal did not prove the signal for another spell of concerted pressure from the hosts.
A deflection from Chris Baird on Meireles's pass for Torres following a lightening-fast counter attack proved to be the next time Stockdale was tested, with the No.12 required to divert the ball around the post on 74 minutes.
With time ticking down, Fulham piled forward in search of an equaliser and Aaron Hughes saw a goal-bound header palmed away by Reina on the stretch.
Hangeland rose highest to meet the corner that followed, but the centre-back was left holding his head in his hands as Meireles cleared from off the goalline.
And the Cottagers were left further frustrated when Reina thwarted Dembele after Danny Murphy's free-kick had caused panic in the Liverpool box.
It proved their final chance, however, as the Reds withstood the nervy finale to secure an important three points.
YNWA
After failing to cap an impressive first-half showing with a goal, the Reds finally took a deserved lead on 52 minutes when visiting defender John Panstil sliced into his own goal after Fernando Torres's deflected effort had struck the post.
Fulham tried in vain to restore parity in the dying stages, but the hosts were able to see out the contest to claim victory.
The result means Liverpool recorded back-to-back Barclays Premier League wins for the first time since November and elevates them up to seventh in the table.
In the build up to the game, an intriguing stat emerged revealing the last time Fulham had visited Anfield with Dalglish as Reds' boss, they returned to London having been on the end of a 10-0 demolition job in a League Cup tie in 1986.
Few were predicting a repeat scoreline prior to kick-off, though, particularly as the Cottagers had ground out goalless draws on each of their last two visits to L4 and journeyed north on the back of a four-match unbeaten run.
Nonetheless, spirits within the Liverpool camp had been buoyed by arguably their most dominant performance of the season so far at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday - and the return of Steven Gerrard from suspension only served to heighten the feel-good factor around dressing room ahead of kick off.
The skipper was instantly restored straight to the starting XI, replacing the injured Lucas Leiva, as Dalglish opted to make one change to the line-up that had excelled at Molineux.
A tepid start greeted the opening exchanges of the contest, but Liverpool did have the ball in the back of the net inside six minutes, only to see the effort chalked off due to offside as Torres raced onto Raul Meireles's pass and slotted beyond David Stockdale.
TV replays, however, suggested perhaps an incorrect decision had been made.
Undeterred, the Reds set about mounting a sustained spell of pressure on the visitors' goal and after Stockdale had tipped Meireles's glance from a Martin Kelly centre around the post, Martin Skrtel headed into the side netting from the resulting corner.
The Fulham stopper had to extend his frame again on 25 minutes, turning Glen Johnson's dipping drive over the bar after the full-back had stormed his way into a shooting position on the edge of the area.
Liverpool were firmly positioned in the driving seat and Mark Hughes's men had rarely ventured into the opposing half - but they did test Pepe Reina twice in quick succession just shy of the 30-minute mark.
First, Clint Dempsey pounced upon a wayward pass from Martin Kelly and drew a block from the Reds' 'keeper with a stinging low drive.
Then, Mousa Dembele spurned a golden chance to put Fulham into the lead, failing to make proper contact with the ball after Andy Johnson's cutback had bobbled into his path at point-blank range and thus enabling Reina to fend away the attempt.
Back came the hosts and only a fine block by Pantsil prevented Maxi Rodriguez's prod reaching goal following Kelly's cross.
With half-time looming, Fulham were still robustly holding on to their clean sheet, although that could have changed had Torres managed to get his header on target from another Kelly delivery.
However, Liverpool eventually broke the deadlock seven minutes after the restart, albeit in somewhat fortunate fashion.
Kuyt's touch deflected a Dempsey pass into the path of Torres, whose turn and shot from the edge of the box ricocheted against Brede Hangeland and onto the base of the post. With Stockdale grounded, Fulham frantically tried to clear under pressure from the lurking Meireles, but Panstil only succeeded in slicing the ball over his own line.
It was no more than the Reds deserved, though the goal did not prove the signal for another spell of concerted pressure from the hosts.
A deflection from Chris Baird on Meireles's pass for Torres following a lightening-fast counter attack proved to be the next time Stockdale was tested, with the No.12 required to divert the ball around the post on 74 minutes.
With time ticking down, Fulham piled forward in search of an equaliser and Aaron Hughes saw a goal-bound header palmed away by Reina on the stretch.
Hangeland rose highest to meet the corner that followed, but the centre-back was left holding his head in his hands as Meireles cleared from off the goalline.
And the Cottagers were left further frustrated when Reina thwarted Dembele after Danny Murphy's free-kick had caused panic in the Liverpool box.
It proved their final chance, however, as the Reds withstood the nervy finale to secure an important three points.
YNWA
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