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A scintillating first-half performance set the tone for a one-sided Liverpool victory over Sunderland at Anfield that kept the Reds in the race for Champions League qualification.

Fernando Torres struck a brilliant opener in the third minute and Glen Johnson's deflected strike made it 2-0 at the end of a first half in which the hosts could easily have scored six.

Torres scored his seventh goal in four matches, and his 18th in 21 Premier League appearances, midway through the second half before Liverpool coasted in the latter stages.

For Liverpool, this was an eighth successive home league win, their best run at Anfield since winning eight in a row towards the end of the 2007-08 season.

More importantly, it kept Rafael Benitez's side within four points of Tottenham, whose win over Portsmouth on Saturday cranked up the pressure in the race for fourth.

Liverpool responded accordingly and, within 55 seconds, defender Daniel Agger smashed a left-footed volley straight at goalkeeper Craig Gordon after Dirk Kuyt had flicked on Steven Gerrard's free-kick.

That the Denmark centre-back had a further two good goalscoring opportunities before half-time gave an indication of how dominant Liverpool were.

However, when it comes to goalscoring there are few to equal Torres and his third-minute strike was a piece of individual brilliance.

Goalkeeper Jose Reina picked him out wide on the left touchline and he dribbled inside Michael Turner to curl a shot over Gordon and perfectly into the far top corner.

In what was the best 45 minutes of football in Liverpool's season, Javier Mascherano had two long-range shots, one headed clear by Kieran Richardson and the other skewed wide, while Torres was just off target with a near-post effort following intricate passing between Maxi Rodriguez and Gerrard.

Ball retention, the pace of the passes, and the general attacking intent made for an exhilarating half.

More chances came and went as Gerrard's run and shot in the penalty area ended in a deflection behind and Rodriguez's near-post header from his captain's corner was superbly tipped over by Gordon.

Had Liverpool been 5-0 up after 30 minutes it would not have flattered them, but they had to settle for just the two goals at the interval.

The second came from Johnson in the 32nd minute when Gerrard's inswinging corner was only cleared to the edge of the penalty area and the defender touched the ball inside on to his left foot and unleashed a shot which took a slight deflection off Turner to beat Gordon.

Torres hit a post and then bundled the rebound wide before the break as Sunderland almost imploded under the pressure.

Liverpool's biggest problem in the second half was the expectation on them to reproduce the football they had displayed before the break.

While it did not reach those heights, they were hardly troubled.

Ryan Babel fired well over after Gerrard's driving run from halfway while Torres had an eight-yard shot blocked by Paulo da Silva, on at half-time for Lee Cattermole.

But the Spain international was not to be denied much longer and on the hour he scored his second goal, which was as simple as his first was brilliant.

Babel's far-post cross to Rodriguez dropped to Johnson who slipped a pass inside where Torres spun on the penalty spot to turn the ball past Gordon.

Alberto Aquilani replaced Kuyt with 20 minutes to go, with Torres making way for David Ngog to another standing ovation 12 minutes from time.

Richardson probably went closest to scoring for Sunderland when he flashed a left-footed shot just wide of Reina's right-hand post.

Gerrard's removal for winger Nabil El Zhar late on signalled that Benitez was more interested in saving his players for Thursday's Europa League quarter-final against Benfica in Lisbon.

What the Liverpool players must now prove in their remaining six league matches is that this performance was not a one-off.

If they can, then Benitez's guarantee of fourth place may yet hold good.

Liverpool kept alive their hopes of silverware this season with a 3-0 victory over Lille at Anfield to win their Europa League last-16 tie 3-1 on aggregate.

Captain Steven Gerrard's ninth-minute penalty gave them the ideal start after Lucas Leiva had been fouled.

Fernando Torres then struck twice in the second half - his first European goals for more than 11 months - to put his side into the quarter-finals.

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg an early Liverpool goal was essential to ease the pressure and, watched by Argentina coach Diego Maradona, they produced just that.

The much-maligned Lucas, returning to the side because of Alberto Aquilani's illness, dribbled into the area and produced a tidy piece of skill to go past Adil Rami and draw the foul.

Referee Nicola Rizzoli pointed to the spot and Gerrard confidently fired home to level things up on aggregate.

Torres had two half-chances to double the lead in the next five minutes as first he cut in from the right at pace only to see his near-post shot deflected wide before then lofting a shot over from Javier Mascherano's free-kick.

Despite going behind Lille still looked like they could be a danger on the counter-attack with Eden Hazard, goalscorer a week ago, and Ludovic Obraniak posing a threat from the flanks.

But right-back Glen Johnson was getting forward at every opportunity and when he found himself in the penalty area he hit a left-foot volley straight at goalkeeper Mickael Landreau.

Daniel Agger's glancing header from Gerrard's inswinging 31st-minute corner was eventually stopped by Landreau on the goalline after the ball got stuck between Dirk Kuyt and Franck Beria.

Lucas, having his best spell for some time, then shot straight at the goalkeeper from 20 yards.

A minute later Hazard burst past Agger and Johnson into the area and had only Jose Reina to beat but the goalkeeper stood tall and the shot deflected behind off his head.

Five minutes before half-time Torres headed Kuyt's hanging cross back across goal but wide of the post.

Lille came out after the break with more purpose and Jamie Carragher produced a perfectly-timed tackle to deny Rio Mavuba three minutes into the second half.

But a minute later Liverpool seized control of the tie with an expert piece of finishing from Torres.

Ryan Babel hooked a ball out of defence with his right foot which looked more like a clearance than a pass but Rami, who had been given a torrid time by Torres, misjudged the bounce of the ball and it ballooned over him.

The Spain striker did not need a second invitation and he sped towards goal before dinking a shot past Landreau with the outside of his right foot.

It was the first time he had scored in European competition since his goal at Anfield in the 3-1 Champions League quarter-final defeat to Chelsea on April 8.

Torres then drilled a shot just wide of the goalkeeper's right-hand post.

Liverpool's advantage was only a slender one and that fragility was almost exposed in the 73rd minute when Obraniak's free-kick picked out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the far post only for the substitute to bundle his shot into the ground and over the crossbar.

As the tie entered its final throes the anxiety began to grow as Liverpool were unsure whether to try to hold their lead or finish Lille off with a third goal.

It almost came when Kuyt's long-range strike was batted behind by Landreau.

But all the pressure was released when Torres followed up a rebound from Gerrard's shot to score his second a minute before time and his fourth in his last two .

It secured a second victory in an important week, with Manchester United to come at Old Trafford on Sunday.

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Midfielder Alberto Aquilani finally found a performance to justify his £17 million price tag, capping a masterful display with his first Liverpool goal in the 4-1 win over Portsmouth at Anfield.

The summer signing, brought in after Xabi Alonso's sale to Real Madrid, has struggled to adapt to life in England but was at the heart of everything in only his fifth Premier League start.

Fernando Torres scored twice, with Ryan Babel and Aquilani adding goals in between his strikes, before Nadir Belhadj hit a late consolation.

It was the first time since they beat Hull 6-1 on September 26 that Liverpool had scored more than two goals in a league match and that helped lift them to fifth in the table, a point behind Tottenham having played one match more.

However, of their three assignments this week - they face Lille on Thursday trailing 1-0 in the Europa League before heading to Old Trafford on Sunday - this was by far the easiest.

For Portsmouth the defeat ensured their 59-year winless run at Anfield continued but, considering their off-field problems, it will hardly have a defining impact on their season.

Strangely, Liverpool had not won on a Monday evening in their last nine attempts, with five draws and four defeats.

Their most recent victory came with Gary McAllister's last-minute free-kick at Everton in April 2001.

With a record like that they needed a positive start and the intent was apparent from the off as Torres' run towards the penalty area inside the first minute was halted only by Marc Wilson's tug.

Having cranked up the pressure against the massed ranks of Portsmouth's defence - with Torres and Gerrard both having penalty shouts turned down - Liverpool eventually made the breakthrough they were so desperate for in the 26th minute.

It was with more than a slice of good fortune, however, and came courtesy of goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown, making only his fourth appearance this season because of David James' calf injury.

Ashdown drilled Ricardo Rocha's back-pass straight at Gerrard and the ball dropped to Maxi Rodriguez, who squared for Torres to roll a shot into the empty net.

Two minutes later Glen Johnson's cross to the far post dropped to Torres, who turned former Liverpool defender Steve Finnan before slipping a pass inside for Babel to poke home.

In the 32nd minute the goal that all Anfield - and Aquilani - had hoped for came when Gerrard played in Torres, who crossed back for his captain to dummy and allow his team-mate to fire home in front of the Kop.

Torres could have made it 4-0 in the 35th minute when he cut in from the left to curl a right-foot shot beyond Ashdown only to see it rebound back off the post. Gerrard fired wide from Johnson's return ball.

Portsmouth were slow to return for the second half and it was perhaps understandable as the barrage continued almost immediately.

In probably the best move of the match, the ball was worked in from the right starting with Rodriguez and going through Torres, Aquilani, Babel, and Aquilani again before Gerrard's shot at the far post was charged down by Ashdown.

From the same move the Portsmouth goalkeeper's fingertip save then tipped Babel's shot onto the crossbar and over.

Portsmouth threatened in the 55th minute when Brown's shot was instinctively touched over by Jose Reina.

But it was only a brief respite as Rodriguez fired wide and Johnson should have had a penalty when Belhadj brought down the England international.

Gerrard departed in the 74th minute, having just been involved in a clash with Brown in which the Reds captain appeared to thrust an arm across his opponent's face, as Yossi Benayoun came on.

Aquilani's dream night continued in the 77th minute when he threaded a pass to Torres in the penalty area and he cut back onto his right foot to blast a shot inside the near post.

The Spaniard, who has now scored 15 Premier League goals to beat his tally of last season, was immediately replaced by David Ngog.

Torres, who looks to be returning to his lethal best having been sidelined for five weeks after a knee operation, left to a standing ovation.

But the real plaudits - after a long wait - went to Aquilani and even a late goal from Belhadj, sidefooting in Frederic Piquionne's volley across goal, could not spoil his night.

Wigan striker Hugo Rodallega's eighth Premier League goal of the season put a huge dent in Liverpool's top-four aspirations at the DW Stadium.

The Colombia international volleyed home Emmerson Boyce's 35th-minute cross after Dirk Kuyt had needlessly given away possession close to his own penalty area.

Liverpool showed little of the quality required for a place in the Champions League once Fernando Torres had hit a post in the eighth minute and the Latics were well worth their victory.

It was Wigan's first Premier League win over Liverpool and only their second over one of the so-called 'big four' - the other coming at home to Chelsea earlier this season. That ended a run of seven league matches without a victory and lifted them four points clear of the relegation zone.

And while it was only sixth-placed Liverpool's second defeat in 11 games it could have done irreparable damage to their chances of finishing fourth as they have now played more games than all of their rivals.

Rafael Benitez's side's problems are clear to see as this was the sixth time in their last eight away league matches they have failed to score. The closest they came in this game was when Torres hit the outside of the upright after Maxi Rodriguez's header from Steven Gerrard's corner dropped to him at the far post.

But Wigan quickly grew in confidence and Marcelo Moreno was only inches from connecting with a driven cross through the six-yard area by Charles N'Zogbia, who was causing left-back Emiliano Insua plenty of problems. Rodallega curled over a 20-yard free-kick after being fouled by Lucas Leiva while Insua's difficulties against N'Zogbia continued as he was booked for bringing down his opponent in the centre-circle.

Gerrard could have opened the scoring in the 26th minute after good link play between Rodriguez, Kuyt and Yossi Benayoun but the England international's first shot was blocked by Paul Scharner and although he quickly recovered he could not hit the target with the follow-up. Lucas was next to be booked for tripping Titus Bramble and Sotirios Kyrgiakos was also cautioned for cynically blocking off Scharner.

Liverpool were struggling to find any sort of rhythm and their alarming tendency to give the ball away proved expensive in the 35th minute. uyt, deep position on the left, rolled the ball aimlessly to Boyce who instantly fired a cross to the far post where Rodallega poked home. It was the first time the Reds had conceded in the opening 45 minutes of a league match for 11 games.

Bramble was then booked for clattering into the back of Torres, who headed over Rodriguez's cross from six yards just before half-time. Within 42 seconds of the second half kicking-off Mascherano had to be quick to block Rodallega's shot.

At the other end Torres, unusually for him, failed to hit the target from Rodriguez's cut-back. Ten minutes into the half Johnson replaced Lucas, with Mascherano returning to his favoured central midfield.

Liverpool almost gifted Wigan a second as Jose Reina came out to claim a through-ball only for Carragher to knock it past him and then smashed his clearance into Moreno. The ball looped towards the goal only for Kyrgiakos to get back to head over his own crossbar.

However, Liverpool were not getting any better and Torres' ambitious 25-yard volley summed things up when it went out for a throw close to the right corner flag.

Wigan should have had a second in the 73rd minute when Rodallega's pass put N'Zogbia through but his shot was partially stopped by Reina and Johnson scrambled the ball out at the far post under pressure from Scharner. Moments later Torres' volley from Kuyt's header down rolled agonisingly wide of the post.

Liverpool's frustrations boiled over as first the Spain international was booked after chasing Boyce half the length of the pitch to bring him down and then Gerrard was then cautioned for diving in on McCarthy, despite appearing to win the ball.

A sign of Liverpool's desperation could been seen in the five minutes of injury time when Kyrgiakos went to play up front. It typified a night when the Reds' short-comings this season were laid bare by an industrious but by no means brilliant Wigan side.