Liverpool 3-1 Blackburn Rovers

Full-time Liverpool move five points clear of Everton in the 'race' for fourth place. It was well deserved against a Blackburn team that was never really at the races and Mark Hughes' men now have even less to play for than they did 92-odd minutes ago.

Goal! Liverpool 3-1 Blackburn (Santa Cruz 90+1) A ball into the Liverpool box is headed upwards by Skrtel and Santa Cruz does brilliantly to watch the ball fall over his shoulder and volley past Reina, who didn't have a chance.

Goal! Liverpool 3-0 Blackburn (Voronin 90) Benayoun's through ball is deflected into Riise's path by Samba's outstretched boot, and the Norwegian squares to Voronin inside the six-yard box and he slides the ball into the net. "You know, on the subject of David Bentley, Man United did buy Michael Carrick," notes Johnathan Kaszynski. "For £15m. Just a thought."

86 min A scream of anguish from an Irish colleague of mine with a penchant for overs betting: McCarthy breaks into the right side of Liverpool's penalty area and drives fiercely towards goal, only to find the side-netting. Voronin is on for Torres, while John Arne Riise is also on.

84 min Another huge shout for a penalty as Gerrard goes down easily under Samba's challenge, but Wiley is again having none of it. A little less contact than Toure's on Babel, but probably not a spot-kick. "If Bentley was (i) really good and (ii) really ambitious about playing for England, wouldn't he be trying to get a move to somewhere like Bayern Munich or Roma?" wonders Gary Naylor. "English players show so little imagination in furtherance of their careers - no wonder England can't put together a decent team. He'll go to Everton or Tottenham as he adds nothing to the Big Four."

Goal! Liverpool 2-0 Blackburn (Torres 82) That's that as Torres bags his 30th goal of the season. Liverpool again break up Blackburn's play and the ball is fed to Gerrard on the right. With defenders in short supply, the pinpoint cross picks out Torres at the back post, and he nods back past the way Friedel is shuffling and into the net from seven yards.

81 min Brilliant interplay between Torres and Gerrard release the Liverpool top scorer into the Blackburn box. Samba's long leg slides in and takes man and ball. Wiley waves play on, but replays suggest that Torres deserved a penalty.

79 min ... and Bentley curls a lovely free-kick inches wide of Reina's goal. A fine effort, but the Spaniard definitely had it covered. "Surely if Liverpool want to win the title, they need to be a more ambitious in their purchases than a (let's be honest) not-much-better-than-middling player such as Bentley," says Jack Lee. "Put another way, could you see Man Utd wanting him?"

78 min Gerrard's late challenge catches Reid and it's a free-kick for Blackburn, about 27 yards out in a central location ...

76 min A real opportunity for Blackburn on the break as Roberts goes past two defenders. He has McCarthy in yards of space at the top of the Liverpool penalty area, but he doesn't get his head up and Benayoun pinches the ball.

74 min Vogel and Pedersen are off, with Dunn and McCarthy on.

72 min Roberts and Skrtel tussle again, with the defender clearly fouling Roberts as the last man as he attempted to spin and close in on Reina's goal with the through ball. It definitely could have been a red card, but Wiley opts for yellow. Then again, Reina may have reached the ball first. It probably deserved a punishment halfway between the two - the perfect sin-bin foul, as my colleagues suggest.

71 min In a similar incident to the one between Gerrard and Samba in the first half, Roberts and Skrtel collide outside the Liverpool box. However, the striker simply lost his balance and pleas for a free-kick rightly fall on deaf ears.

70 min Hughes is readying his replacements, with David Dunn and Benni McCarthy set to come on in an attempt to inject some life into, what must be said, a rather poor second-half display.

67 min Another half-chance for Blackburn as Bentley volleys a partially-cleared cross miles over the bar. I'd be interested to hear what readers think about Bentley's future - will he still be at Ewood Park next season, or will someone - possibly Liverpool - come in for him?

66 min Pedersen breaks and beats Xabi Alonso's slide challenge. However, with team-mates well placed, he opts to pull the trigger and arc a left-foot shot well high and wide of Reina's goal. A waste.

64 min A renewed confidence is flowing through Liverpool, who win a corner after good work from Gerrard and then force Samba to clear off the head of Torres inside the Rovers box.

Goal! Liverpool 1-0 Blackburn (Gerrard 60) Blackburn prove to be their own worst enemy, giving away possession cheaply just outside their own penalty area. Benayoun picks it up and after a quick exchange with his skipper and then Torres, Gerrard takes the ball past Samba and calmly sidefoots low past Friedel. A deserved lead for Liverpool and Gerrard never looked as though he was going to miss that one.

58 min The first substitution of the game with Babel taking his leave, Yossi Benayoun replacing him.

56 min Babel is tugged back by Samba just outside the Blackburn penalty box on the left-hand side. Gerrard opts to cross, but Friedel beats Lucas - later flagged for offside - to the punch. "I like today's picture because I take it as a description of the typical Liverpool performance in a match following the Famous European Night (TM)," says George Templeton.

54 min A corner for Liverpool is half-cleared by Santa Cruz and it falls to Lucas, running in, who drills a deliciously struck half-volley about three yards wide from 20 yards. "How has the new Beckham been playing?"asks Ian Copestake. "I'm thinking Bentley, not Kuyt." Well, there have been a few crosses and not much else, Ian, so he's pretty much emulating Beckham to a tee.

52 min Kuyt performs the perfect forward's tackle on Bentley to concede a free-kick around 30 yards out from Reina's goal. Pedersen pulls rank and takes a shot at goal, but it's never troubling Reina, who gathers at the second attempt.

51 min A bright opening to the half from both teams; now Gerrard bursts into the Blackburn box with three defenders in pursuit, but Warnock heads his cross behind. The corner is then well cleared and Rovers can grab a breather.

49 min Free-kick on the right for Blackburn in a dangerous spot as Skrtel is adjudged to have clipped Bentley's ankle. Morten Gamst Pederson fizzes in the cross, but Reina strongly fists clear from underneath his crossbar.

48 min Torres breaks to the right byline but his cross is caught by Friedel, who releases a quick Blackburn counter. Santa Cruz has three options with him as he crosses the halfway line, but he chooses the wrong one, Roberts in an offside position, and the chance comes to nothing.

46 min The second half begins with Torres attempting an ambitious 50-yard effort from the center circle. Friedel is certainly caught by surprise, but the shot drifts tamely wide of his goal and into the Kop.

Half-time email

"Why is there such antagonism towards Liverpool at the Guardian?" moans Greg Wells. "Simon Hattenstone stated hs distaste about the inordinate amount of Gunners in the Guardian office, and I'm starting to wonder if this is this some poorly-veiled vitriol from a bitter victim of the twelfth-man at a FEN (Famous European Night (TM)." Some answers, Greg: no, there is not; I don't support Arsenal; and most people call it this.

Peep, peep and an obligatory third peep Wiley brings the half to a close.

45 min A tame ending to the half with just the one added minute of time, as Aurelio booms a cross from the left behind for a Rovers free-kick.

43 min There doesn't appear to be any lasting damage to Bentley, who can only look back down the field as Babel breaks in on to his right foot from the left flank. He leaves two defenders in his wake, but drills his 20-yard shot well over Friedel's crossbar.

41 min A worry for Blackburn as Bentley pulls up, feeling his calf, after an innocuous challenge with Skrtel.

38 min Good work from Torres wins Liverpool a free-kick on the left in a dangerous position. Gerrard whips in a great ball and again Blackburn are found wanting at a set piece, with Kuyt rising highest but glancing badly wide. A real chance gone begging there.

36 min Torres and Gerrard get in each other's way as they burst down the inside-left channel and the chance comes to nothing. Liverpool, however, are still far the better team and will be disappointed to still be goalless. Rovers have slowed the tempo just a little, mind, and are starting to look a bit more comfortable.

34 min "Does anyone think this Hicks fellow might just be making a really bad attempt at dry British wit?" ponders Adoni Patrikios. "I bet he's at home saying 'and they say we don't get irony'." He's certainly making a good job of making himself into a laughing stock, Adoni. Meanwhile, Warnock steals the ball and feeds Santa Cruz. He sells Arbeloa a great dummy and cuts inside in the penalty area. He drives low across goal, but Pepe Reina - one of his first touches of the game - does well to beat it out and his defenders clear their lines.

31 min Free-kick to Blackburn on the right as Skrtel goes in a little late on Reid. Warnock's free-kick is swung in with his left boot from the right touchline, but it's over hit as Roberts and Samba both fail to stretch themselves to reach it.

29 min A break in play gives Blackburn some time to recover as Samba receives some treatment. "Please don't do any more liver pool games you git," writes Arnar Snorrason.

27 min It's all livening up nicely now. Gerrard, still fuming in Wiley's direction, gets on the end of some nice interplay from Torres and Kuyt, but scuffs a shot across goal from 14 yards when well placed. Rovers are really hanging on right now.

25 min Gerrard again breaks clear from midfield and bears down on a bouncing ball. Christopher Samba is also there and he body checks the midfielder to the ground. It was a foul - just outside the box - and probably should have been a red card too. Still, what goes around comes around, I guess. There's something about cheats and prospering that I can't quite put my finger on ...

22 min "So, the American money man has Rick Parry in his sights?" begins Gary Naylor. "Who was the Premier League's first chief executive, who led the charge away from boardrooms populated by local butchers happy to be part of a 92-club family, to today's boardrooms of corporate suits and oligarchs busily pulling up the ladder behind them? Step forward, Rick Parry. Hubris is the word, I believe." Kuyt picks Stephen Warnock's pocket on the right wing and fires in a low cross towards Babel, but Friedel is alert and gathers.

20 min A 30-yard daisy-cutter from Kuyt, but it's rather weak and Friedel does well to collect on the greasy turf.

18 min Imaginary yellow cards waved all over Guardian Towers. Gerrard races on to a through ball and beats Friedel to the ball; he then takes the ball wide of the American only to throw himself disgracefully to the ground in search of a penalty. Wiley waves the pleas away, but then doesn't book Gerrard for blatant cheating. Time to get all sanctimonious, but why does such a good footballer need to employ such gutless tactics?

15 min A wholly subdued atmosphere within Anfield today. Not that they're phoning in their performance, mind, but would the "12th man" - as Gerrard called them in midweek - not be of more use with a little more vocal backing today? You can't revel in the plaudits of players after a Famous European Night (TM) then not rise to the occasion for the visit of Blackburn five days later. Or am I being unfair? Disjointed play, with Roque Santa Cruz finally coming into the game a little.

12 min "You promised a minute-by-minute report, but you didn't post any updates between minute 3 and minute 5," moans Michael. "Could you please let us know what happened in the game at minute 4?" Yes, Michael, I can. I was deleting all emails sent to me that signed off, like you, with a :P

10 min Sloppy defending from Steven Reid almost catches Blackburn out as Brad Friedel is forced to sprint out and clear off the toe of the marauding Torres. Moments later Liverpool, who are beginning to find their stride, work a chance for Fabio Aurelio on the left half of the Rovers penalty area, only for him to shank it horribly wide.

9 min Ryan Nelsen concedes possession and Kuyt breaks down the right. His cross is headed behind by Emerton and Liverpool have the first corner of the game. Gerrard pings the corner across and Torres rises serenely to glance a header inches wide of the left-hand post from no more than five yards out.

7 min It's dire fare on the pitch thus far, to be honest, so here's Lou Roper. "So, Mr Hicks places 'communication with Rafa' amongst his high priorities for a chief executive," he begins. "Shame he didn't hold such a principle back in the fall when he was dabbling with Mr Klinsmann. Is there no sock big enough to fit in this man's mouth?" Anyone?

5 min David Bentley is struggling for space in a congested midfield, before Rovers win a free-kick as Lucas fells Johann Vogel. When the half-cleared set piece is headed back in by Vogel, the offside Jason Roberts drills it into the net as the flag is raised.

3 min Martin Skrtel's 50-yard crossfield ball sparks the first attack of the game, but when Dirk Kuyt and his concrete slippers finally catch up with the pass, he slices it high and wide into the stands. "This game clearly does matter to Rafa as, one suspended Argentinian aside, this is his strongest side," writes Ian Copestake, setting himself up for the inevitable pay-off. "Unless Crouch is now so important to the side that he cannot be risked."

1 min After a minute's silence to commemorate the anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy, a peep, peep, peep signals kick-off.

Here comes kick-off "What is your picture 'the scene at Liverpool today' meant to depict?" wonders Kayleigh Martin. "I'm stumped. I usually pride myself on having a silent snigger at the highly amusing pictures uploaded on the minute-by-minute reports. So who's let the side down? Me, with my inability to read a simple picture message, or you?" I'm going to share the blame, Kayleigh. The dirty laundry picture has clearly missed the target, but you really shouldn't be expecting anything 'highly amusing' from me either.

Questions Will all this off-field bedlam affect Liverpool on the pitch today? My own Kent Brockmanesque two cents? No. Apologies Everton fans, but fourth is as good as in the bag and Europe is all they've really got to play for. Does this game really matter to Liverpool. No. And do we really need to know where the ref is from? "Since Dutch referees favour players from the neighboring village, I think we do need to know where the referee is from," sniffs Luke Kelly, still reeling from the decisive moment at Anfield on Tuesday night.

Form guide Not since their FA Cup shellacking at the hands of mighty Barnsley two months ago have Liverpool failed to win at Anfield - seven victories out of seven. Rovers, currently ninth in the table, have only lost one in seven, but they haven't won at Liverpool since a 1-0 FA Cup win in 2000 when Nathan Blake grabbed the late winner.

Team news Three changes for Liverpool, for whom Fernando Torres hasn't been rested. Sami Hyypia, Peter Crouch and the suspended Javier Mascherano all drop out, with Alvaro Arbeloa, Ryan Babel and Lucas coming into the team. For Blackburn, Brett Emerton is the sole change to the line-up that drew at home to Spurs last weekend, with Andre Ooijer dropping down to the bench.

Preamble Another day, another bout of Anfield in-fighting. What an utter shambles of a back room brawl after a brilliant week on the pitch for Liverpool. "After watching him operate, I came to the conclusion it was time to ask [Rick Parry] to resign, due to his inability to manage an organization, his seemingly arrogant attitude to our supporters and his lack of communication with Rafa," sneered Tom Hicks this morning. Far be it from me to cast aspersions on the man who bought Dr Pepper, but when it comes to an inability to manage an organization, an arrogant attitude and a lack of communication with Benítez ... etc and so on.

Anyhow, today's teams - Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio, Lucas, Alonso, Kuyt, Gerrard, Babel, Torres. Subs: Itandje, Hyypia, Riise, Voronin, Benayoun.

Blackburn: Friedel, Emerton, Samba, Nelsen, Warnock, Bentley, Vogel, Reid, Pedersen, Santa Cruz, Roberts. Subs: Brown, Ooijer, McCarthy, Mokoena, Dunn.

Referee: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire - that's the important info you really need).

In the meantime, you can keep up with Steven Gerrard's gangland run-in here.