LIVERPOOL, England (AFP) - Fernando Torres kept Liverpool's Champions League rescue mission on course and did Rafa Benitez a favour in the process as his double strike inspired a 4-1 win over Porto on Wednesday.
Torres scored twice either side of Lisandro Lopez's equaliser at Anfield before Steven Gerrard and Peter Crouch struck late on to clinch a victory that means Benitez's side can still reach the last 16.
Liverpool need to beat Marseille in their final Group F fixture in the south of France to go through, but Benitez will take that after a torrid week looked to be reaching an unpaletable conclusion.
When Lopez brought Porto level before half-time, Liverpool were in danger of being eliminated from the competition they have won five times.
That would have been a substantial blow to Benitez as he tries to win his word of wars with the club's American owners.
Benitez's very public disagreements with Tom Hicks and George Gillett over transfer policy threatened to prove a fatal distraction at the pivotal moment of Liverpool's European campaign.
But, with the club on the brink of civil war, Benitez has been at pains to save his neck by underlining his happiness at Anfield.
The fans made it clear where their loyalties lay. Around 2,000 staged a protest march against the Americans en route to the match and the Kop repeatedly roared Benitez's name before the match.
Benitez wanted the crowd to back their team and forget about him and he emphasised that message by briefly acknowledging them and then gesturing towards the players.
Liverpool's woeful start in Group A left no margain for error and Benitez sent out a team packed with attacking options for a game he had to win.
There was no doubting Liverpool's intensity early on as they snapped crisp passes around midfield. Yossi Benayoun claimed a penalty when his cross hit Milan Stepanov's arm but referee Roberto Rosetti waved away the appeal.
The hosts weren't going to let Porto settle and Torres robbed Paulo Assuncao in the centre-circle before testing Helton with a long-range effort.
It was a statement of intent that Porto couldn't match.
When Steve Finnan won a corner in the 19th minute, Torres should have been the first player they marked. Instead Lucho Gonzalez let the Spain striker run free to meet Gerrard's set-piece with a downwards header that zipped past Helton.
Benitez's side were comfortably the better side but out of nowhere Porto snatched an equaliser in the 33rd minute.
Przemyslaw Kazmierczak surged past Finnan and whipped in a superb cross towards Lopez, who lost Alvaro Arbeloa and directed a diving header past Jose Reina.
Liverpool looked rattled for the first time and they were fortunate Lopez lost his composure when Lucho's pass sent him clear moments later. Lopez's clipped shot trickled past a post but the Reds were rocking.
Gerrard tried to lift his side with a powerful free-kick that swerved wide but the hosts finished the half looking increasingly unsure of themselves.
Benitez had done plenty of talking in the last week but now he needed to find the right words to say to his players.
Anfield grew more anxious by the minute as Liverpool strained for a goal and when Ryan Babel opted to pass instead of shoot howls of frustration reverberated around the stadium.
Benitez responded by sending on Harry Kewell and Crouch. And with time running out it was Kewell who helped prise open the Porto defence in the 78th minute.
The Australia slipped a pass through to Torres and he shrugged off Cech before calmly planting his shot into the far corner.
Gerrard put the result beyond doubt from the penalty spot with seven minutes to play after MilanStepanov had handled his free kick in the area.
Crouch sealed a slightly flattering victory when he headed in Gerrard's corner in the 88th minute to leave Benitez breathing a sigh of relief.
