All the latest action from the English top-flight, including Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea

• Spaniard says European glory is his personal target
• Striker out to improve on his four in four against Chelsea

Fernando Torres has made it clear that the Champions League remains his priority as Liverpool gear up for their annual European encounter with Chelsea.

This is the fifth consecutive season that the clubs will have met in the Champions League, and although Liverpool are finally contesting the Premier League it is Europe that remains the main aim for the Spanish striker.

Torres, who joined Liverpool the summer after their 2007 loss to Milan in the final, said his part in Spain’s victorious Euro 2008 campaign has given him the taste of success. “Domestic titles are very important but to win the Champions League you are saying, ‘We are the best team in Europe’,” he said.

“This club has a great record in the European Cup but now I want to be a part of that history. Winning the European Championship was a great thing for me and I understood what it was to win a major trophy and what I had been missing.

“On the way home from the European Championship I made a promise that I wanted more of this success with Liverpool and it does not come any bigger than the European Cup.”

Torres is also keen to soothe the pain of his “unhappiest memories” against Chelsea. The striker was part of the Liverpool team beaten by the Blues in the semi-final of the competition last season and although he stopped short of saying he is out for revenge, clearly he wants to make amends for that defeat.

“It remains one of my unhappiest memories,” Torres said. “A lot of hard work went into getting to that position in the tournament, only for it all to vanish in a few minutes. It’s strange that we meet in this competition year after year. Last season, they won in the semi-final, so we must ensure it’s a different result this time.”

Torres, who has scored four goals in four games against Chelsea since moving to Anfield, reserved special praise for Steven Gerrard, saying that there is currently no one better in world football. “When I first came to this club, I knew that Steven was a fantastic player – I just didn’t know quite how good,” he said. “Is there a better player in the world? No, I don’t think so. There’s nothing he can’t do.”

The Spanish striker also reiterated his own desire to stay at the club for the long term. “I have said many times the only club I would leave Atletico for was Liverpool, and nothing has changed there. They are the only two clubs that are in my heart,” he said. “I have supported Liverpool since I was a boy and I intend on staying here a very long time.”

Money goes only so far as there is always an intangible element in the creation of an unforgettable team

The intrigue of the Champions League does not lie in exhibitionistic display of all that money can buy. Perfection cannot have been bought from any catalogue. Some absurdly gifted footballers will be on show in the quarter-finals that start tonight, but the tournament may be enthralling for its proof that the risk of embarrassment and failure cannot always be kept at bay.

At the weekend Bayern Munich were beaten 5-1 by Wolfsburg and slithered to fourth place in the Bundesliga. The losers are extremely affluent, but that was no protection.

It is beyond dispute that clubs of means are at an enduring advantage. One day, even Manchester City might demonstrate that money does have its beneficial uses. The international programme, where cash is of scant help, can look like an excursion into mediocrity. England’s win over Ukraine, for instance, saw two indifferent teams baffling themselves and one another. There are still four Premier League clubs contending for the Champions League, but the number of Englishmen starting the first legs of the quarter-finals may not get into double figures.

With luck those games will be enthralling, but the drama will also emerge from frailties. The contest on our domestic scene has revived precisely because United grew stale. The possibility is intact of Sir Alex Ferguson’s line-up delivering the greatest season in the history of the club, but the fallibility is no longer hidden. On Sunday, they had to raid the memory banks to snatch a win they hardly deserved over Aston Villa.

A staidness, which can only be blamed partly on injuries, had stolen over United, as if they had been released from the obligation to be dashing. When goals began to be conceded against Liverpool and Fulham, there was panic. They still look the best of the Premier League representatives in this week’s quarter-final, but their fallibility is no longer in dispute.

Fans of any of these clubs would not be stumped if asked to identify flaws. Chelsea would certainly benefit from a youthful and dashing forward who would save everyone from worrying about what they should expect from Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba. At Liverpool, there continues to be an alarming dependence on Steve Gerrard and Fernnado Torres to ensure there is no lapse into the old stodginess.

Arsenal, against their wishes, have been excused the arduous struggle for the title that has preoccupied them. There had been far too many injuries for Arsène Wenger’s team to do more than hobble through parts of the programme. There is a sheen to the side at the moment, but the Champions League may tell us whether Arsenal have regained enough of the muscle and physical presence that typified them in the days when silverware was expected.

Wenger, at least, has not spent much money. While Rafael Benítez keeps the books in order with some judicious selling, Liverpool and, to a greater extent, Chelsea and United have been ready to pay high prices. It has worked, but there are still mysterious aspects to team building that defy all efforts, and the most advanced technology, to piece together an ideal line-up.

Barcelona, for instance, are rightly feted at the moment, but no one can be sure that Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o and the others will go on ensuring that a sometimes indifferent central defence is not the club’s downfall in the Champions League. There is a haphazard element to every football project.

Despite the means available to a handful of clubs who can aspire to sign extraordinary performers from around the globe, many people still think of Brazil’s 1970 World Cup-winners as the finest of all teams. It emerged, however, from utter chaos. Joao Saldanha, for instance, was forced out as coach. His past as a journalist cannot have helped and his reservations about Pele’s eyesight were not crowd-pleasers either.Saldanha had even argued that Tostao and Pele could not function together. With him gone, the pair were to be a glorious combination. They were given their freedom by Saldanha’s successor, Mario Zagallo, who knew that there must be a solution that did not entail discarding genius.

A line-up such as Brazil’s in 1970 will never be built to order, irrespective of budget. There is always an intangible element in the creation of an unforgettable line-up. We should be glad of the chance to see Barcelona and the others in the Champions League, but the mysteries of football greatness cannot be cracked even with the means of billionaire owners.

• Chelsea striker regarded as ‘a pain in the ass’
• Ivory Coast forward is fit after ankle injury

José Reina has broken with custom at Liverpool to rank Didier Drogba as one of his favourite players and his most formidable opponent, with the Chelsea striker receiving the back-handed compliment of being labelled a “pain in the ass” by the Spain goalkeeper.

Drogba was instrumental in Liverpool’s demise in the Champions League semi-finals last season, when he responded to Rafael Benítez’s criticism of his theatrical style by scoring twice in Chelsea’s second-leg triumph. Despite the misery of that night at Stamford Bridge for Liverpool, and an injury-plagued season for Drogba since, Reina has revealed a grudging respect for the Ivory Coast international and believes his threat will be as potent as ever when the teams meet again in Wednesday’s Anfield quarter-final.

“To be honest, he’s one of my favourite players and when the people ask me about who was the most dangerous striker or who was really a pain in the ass, I always say Didier Drogba,” the Liverpool goalkeeper said. “I think in a way he’s becoming stronger and stronger. He’s been having some injury problems in the last months but now he’s scoring goals. He’s scored four or five in the last six games or something like that and whoever plays in front, like Nicolas Anelka or even Drogba, it will be difficult to stop them.”

The Chelsea striker missed last Saturday’s 2-0 win at Newcastle United with an ankle problem but is expected to feature for Guus Hiddink’s team against Liverpool, whose own major injury worry has eased. Steven Gerrard was withdrawn in stoppage time against Fulham on Saturday with a tight hamstring, a problem that has restricted him previously this season, but the Liverpool captain has not required a scan and is expected to train with the rest of the squad today.

Liverpool are not lacking in confidence ahead of the quarter-final, having hauled themselves back into contention for the Premier League title and defeated Chelsea home and away this season. Benítez’s team ended Chelsea’s 86-game unbeaten league run at Stamford Bridge in October and then accelerated Luiz Felipe Scolari’s demise as manager with a 2-0 win at Anfield in February. However, Reina believes the Londoners are a more consistent unit with Hiddink at the helm than under the World Cup-winning Brazilian coach, and discounts the argument that Chelsea’s squad is on the wane.

“I think they play more consistently now,” said Reina. “Chelsea had before, and continue to have, one of the greatest squads in the Premier League and in Europe; so no matter who the manager is, the Chelsea squad will be strong anyway. As always, when we play them in any kind of competition, like the league or Champions League, the smaller things can make a big difference and it will be that way once again. We feel that we can win, that we can beat each other at any time because we’ve done it before - they did it last year, in the Champions League semi-final.”

Liverpool will be without Javier Mascherano for the first leg of the quarter-final, the Argentina captain suspended as a result of a harsh booking in the 4–0 rout of Real Madrid, and responsibility is likely to fall on the much-maligned Lucas in his absence. The Brazilian midfielder began in place of Mascherano at Craven Cottage but has not started two consecutive games for Liverpool all season. That is likely to change at Anfield unless Benítez moves Gerrard back alongside Xabi Alonso in central midfield.

“I know that the Chelsea game is a big opportunity for me and I’ll try to make it into the team,” said Lucas. “I know that sometimes I am on the bench but I understand that the manager has to choose and that Javier and Xabi have been playing really well.”

• Former manager is backing his old club
• Losing last season’s final will fire up Chelsea

Chelsea are confident Didier Drogba will be fit to start tomorrow’s Champions League quarter-final at Liverpool after recovering from an ankle injury while the Londoners’ former manager Avram Grant is backing Guus Hiddink to succeed where he himself narrowly failed last May by securing the club’s first European Cup.

Drogba missed Saturday’s win at Newcastle after picking up the injury by kicking the ground during shooting practice in training at Cobham last Thursday. A scan on the joint has come back clear, however, and the Ivorian trained with his team-mates yesterday and will do so again this morning before their journey to Merseyside. He will be joined in the side by Jose Bosingwa, recovered from a hamstring niggle, and Michael Essien is also expected to feature despite suffering a kick to a knee at St James’ Park.

Chelsea travel to Liverpool with Hiddink hoping to emulate Grant’s achievement in eliminating Rafael Benítez’s team from this competition and the Israeli convinced that the painful memories of defeat on penalties in last year’s final in Moscow will spur the Londoners on. “I think Chelsea can be in the Champions League final again this year,” Grant said. “You need luck and many other things for this to become a reality but they have the talent to do it and I know the desire is there.

“I saw the faces of the players in the dressing room after we lost to Manchester United in the final last season. They were hurting badly and I said at the time they would come back and win the trophy. Maybe this can be their year. The top teams in Europe are very close on talent, so it comes down to other things at this stage of the Champions League. You need the right mental attitude and lots of experience. Chelsea have both of these qualities and this is why they have a chance.”

Grant had succeeded Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge, the Portuguese having twice endured elimination by Liverpool in the semi-finals of the European Cup, though his own reward for finishing second in the top flight and reaching the Carling Cup and Champions League finals was to have his contract terminated last summer. “So many people ask me if I would still be Chelsea manager now if John Terry had scored that penalty in Moscow and we will never know,” he said. “I wanted to continue at Chelsea but this is gone now and there is no point in worrying about it.

“I had a great time at Chelsea and these memories will live with me but I was very disappointed when they asked me to stop after we achieved so much. My wife pointed out the other day that Guus Hiddink will be a hero if he gets Chelsea to the Champions League final and finishes second in the Premier League but this was not enough for me to stay. She is always right, by the way. Still, I have nothing bad to say about Chelsea. I wish the owner, Roman Abramovich, and everyone at the club well but I do have some regrets from my time at the club and this has nothing to do with the players or the owner.

“We came from sixth place in the league and finished very close to United in the championship. This was a good achievement and maybe people see this now after the trouble Chelsea have had this season. Believe me, I did not enjoy success at Chelsea just because we had good players. Top-class talent is no guarantee of success.”

• Florent Malouda chooses Lampard over Gerrard
• He claims Chelsea can win Champions, Premier and FA trophies

Frank Lampard or Steven Gerrard? Although the two England midfielders operate in different positions for their clubs these days, the debate about whether the Chelsea or the Liverpool man is the better player rages on.

Florent Malouda has no doubts. As his side prepare to renew Champions League rivalries with Liverpool, the Chelsea creator does not hesitate before replying. “For me, it is my mate, Frank Lampard,” Malouda insists.

“I would never say anything different. Frank is so special because he is always focused on the opposition goal. He is always running and full of energy. When we beat Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final last season he was really important for us. Frank is full of confidence and his freedom to play can make the difference.

“Frank runs midfield but he seems to have mentality of a striker. He is never happy if he doesn’t score. He comes from deep positions and that is why teams find it very difficult to keep him quiet. He is always moving and always seems to score. But Frank’s game is not just about scoring.”

Indeed, while Lampard, like Gerrard, registers his fair share of goals and makes plenty of late, ghosted, sprints into the box, he can also put his foot in and serve as an enforcer when necessary.

In contrast Gerrard, for Liverpool at least, has evolved into much more of a withdrawn striker operating behind Fernando Torres but, like the deeper-deployed Lampard, he benefits from considerable licence to roam when the moment is right.

“The fight with Gerrard is going to be one of the keys to our Champions League quarter-final,” said Malouda. “But it won’t be the only battle out there. Against Liverpool every one of our players has to make the difference. We have to put every challenge in and show a lot of discipline. It will be really tight because both sides have world-class players in every position. We have to keep our discipline in both legs. If we do that our discipline will get us through. It’s never easy to play against Liverpool but it’s a great competition and it’s very exciting.”

Not to mention an opportunity to avenge recent domestic disappointments. “It is rare that you play a team twice and lose both times but still get an opportunity to correct those results,” Malouda said.

“We haven’t found the solution to beating Liverpool this season but something in our team has changed since we played them twice earlier this season. Now we have to show that. This is a great opportunity. What has changed with us is the confidence and the discipline we are showing. Our top, key players are now more confident than before.”

So much so that it seems Guus Hiddink’s management has reignited Chelsea’s hopes of pulling off an admittedly unlikely Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup treble.

“We want to win all three trophies this season,” Malouda said. “In the League it is going to be difficult. But we have got it in our minds that we can win the Champions League and the FA Cup. That is our ambition. The squad is nearly all fully fit, there is great competition for places and while I wouldn’t say we have a good chance of winning the Premier League this season, we definitely have a chance. We are playing with a lot of confidence right now and there is a lot of quality in the squad.”

Moreover Chelsea appear to be also benefiting from Hiddink’s managerial modus operandi. “The manager gives us a lot of confidence even when we have had bad results,” explained Malouda. “The manager tells us to play to our qualities.”

Malouda’s talents have often seemed more than a little latent since his much trumpeted, high-priced, arrival at Stamford Bridge from Lyon in 2007 but the French left winger has flourished just lately and seems to be thriving under the new regime.

“I’m happy, fit and healthy,” he said. “And I have been working really hard. John Terry told me recently he wants me to be in the starting line-up more often and that has given me a lot of confidence.”

• Neville struggles on return to first-team
• Chelsea or Liverpool pose biggest European threat

Manchester United’s latest hero is a 17-year-old known as “Kiko”, signed from Lazio’s youth system 18 months ago with barely an inch of column print over here. You want to know some more about the teenager from Rome with the sense of the big occasion? Check out his Facebook page and the photographs of him surrounded by orangey-yellow Paris Hilton wannabes. One imagines that a talented, handsome Italian, with this ability on a football pitch, can expect even more attention from now on.

“In terms of drama, equally so,” said Ferguson, when he was asked to compare it to that famous Steve Bruce header against Sheffield Wednesday in 1993. “You see the fans and those celebrations and ­people love to see that. I just said, ‘Well done.’ It’s important that he keeps his feet on the ground because he’s going to get a lot of publicity now, and he needs to handle that.”

Others would compare it to Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut against Bolton Wanderers in 2003 and, at the final whistle, it scarcely seemed to matter that United had looked so vulnerable in defence. The crowd were on their feet. Gary Neville, embarrassed for large chunks of the afternoon, was pumping his fists. Macheda had run to see his father, Pascuale. High in the stand, the injured Rio Ferdinand had, for want of a better expression, lost the plot. It was bedlam.

What, Ferguson was asked, had his gameplan been in those final moments? “Gamble,” he pronounced firmly. ­”Winning is the name of the game at this club. We play the right way and we deserve the result because we always try to win. Risks are part of football and this club has been that way for a long, long time. I love the thrill of it myself. I love to see that kind of adventure. Yes, we take terrible risks and we don’t defend properly. But there’s always a goal threat from us and the chance to win a match.”

To say United did not defend well was an understatement given the way Neville in particular suffered. “I’m just grateful to this lad,” he later acknowledged, standing next to the young match-winner and accepting the man-of-the-match champagne on his behalf (Macheda is too young to drink alcohol). “I think I paid for not having played for a couple of months. But he’s shown his quality in a finish that was just unbelievable. Obviously we’ve not seen him before today but he’s a great ­finisher. You would want it to fall to him.”

Classic United. “We took a gamble,” Ferguson admitted. “Gary hasn’t played for two months and, at 34, to start him at right-back would have been asking for a miracle. So I thought, ‘Start him at ­centre half, see how he copes.’ But of course you’ve got Carew, 6ft 5 or whatever he is. He’s a massive man and he gave us that problem in the air.”

When the dust settles United will know they certainly cannot afford to defend this badly in their remaining games. But they have Nemanja Vidic to come back from suspension, even if Ferdinand’s groin injury will also keep him out of Tuesday’s Champions League tie against Porto. “Everyone is talking about the challenge coming from Liverpool,” said ­Ferguson. “But we accept that challenge. Funnily enough I think the winner of the Liverpool-Chelsea [Champions League] tie will be our biggest threat. Whoever wins that, it will be a big step forward for them.”

This was a bullish Ferguson, confident that his team had got the 4-1 defeat to ­Liverpool out of their system. “Against Liverpool nothing seemed to go right for us, but I still felt we were the better side. [Liverpool's] goals came from errors, the like of which we have not seen for a long time, and you simply cannot do anything about them in terms of preparation or tactics. If Liverpool had sliced us open with a spell of brilliant, attacking ­football, I would take a different view, but they didn’t outplay us.

“Four long balls down the middle, thanks to our mistakes, led to goals. What is important to me is the way the team played as a unit and in my book we did OK. We had 62% of the possession and the way we were playing when we went in front I don’t think even the staunchest of Liverpool fans could envisage their team coming out on top.”

Patience finally snapped some 20 minutes after the final whistle, prompting the first appeal to be issued over the public address system for the Liverpool supporters to leave the stadium. It went ignored. The visiting players, milling around the tunnel area hoping to venture back out on to the turf to conduct their warm-down, gawped as those crammed on to the Putney end bounced as one to a chorus of: “We’re going to win the league.” And now we might just believe them.

This could have been the afternoon the dream died. Four times the Fulham woodwork had quivered before the interval under relentless Liverpool pressure. At least four times after the break the hosts’ back-line somehow scrambled clear or watched attempts billow the side-netting, amid the visitors’ blanket possession. Ignominy beckoned as this exercise in massed attack against committed defence lurched into stoppage time, only for Yossi Benayoun to batter a winner at the last. Where seconds earlier there had been desperation, now there was conviction to propel those on Merseyside and unsettle the onlookers in Manchester.

The achievement in deflating United at Old Trafford last month was remarkable, though last-minute victories could inflict just as much psychological damage in the title race. Regardless of what the ­champions achieved some 24 hours later against Aston Villa, here was evidence that Liverpool will be breathing down their necks through the run-in.

No other side in the top four had won at Craven Cottage. United had been whipped up into such a frenzy of frustration here in the previous round of fixtures that they ended defeated and depleted with only nine men. This arena had been christened the graveyard of champions. It could yet prove the arena in which Liverpool’s ­credentials were confirmed.

The 2,000 or so fans who were still bellowing their belief half an hour after the end seemed convinced. The Liverpool players eventually gave up on their plans to return to the pitch, some departing with applause for the away support, others merely with smiles of bemusement at the fervour. “The win against United was very important and the way we did it meant we could show everyone United are beatable,” said Benayoun. “What we did that day was knock United’s confidence down. That was a ­factor in them then losing at Fulham.

“We knew it would be difficult ­coming here ourselves, and we missed a lot of chances and were starting to think it was going to be one of those days when the ball wouldn’t go in. But we’ve won a lot of matches this season in the last few minutes and that just shows the strength of our character.” Stings in the tail have secured points in the last minute against Fulham, Middlesbrough, Manchester City and Portsmouth, in the last two minutes against Chelsea, and the last 10 against Wigan, Sunderland and Blackburn. It was a happy knack upon which United once had the monopoly.

Sometimes last-minute winners are described as lucky but, with Liverpool having had seven times as many shots as Fulham, few could claim that on Saturday.

Rafael Benítez will now relish the week ahead and the latest instalment of this club’s Champions League tête-à-tête with Chelsea, even if he must check on Steven Gerrard’s fitness at Melwood today ahead of Wednesday’s quarter-final first leg after the midfielder was subbed in stoppage time. The manager seemed confident enough that his captain’s hamstring had not been tweaked – “he felt something but he was just tired” – and will be buoyed that momentum is with his side in their two-fronted pursuit.

He was asked after the match whether he believed in fate. “In Spain we say that luck is in love with people who work hard,” he replied. “We work hard so, hopefully, we’ll have more luck. We have to keep cool heads from now on. The key is to be consistent. In the past we were a little bit anxious, a little bit nervous, so we’d have a lot of good games and then one or two bad games. But now we are playing with more confidence.”

It was too much for Fulham, even if their own commitment was admirable. Roy Hodgson’s side have flourished quietly and efficiently this season – a year previously they had been beaten athome by Sunderland and appeared condemned to the Championship – and earned the good fortune that saw Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso and Andrea Dossena, twice, cannon attempts off the woodwork. Mark Schwarzer, wonderfully protected by those in front of him, was outstanding yet again and there was industry and endeavour throughout their display, even if José Reina went virtually untroubled.

Theirs is a platform from which further progress can be built next term and it said much that Roy Hodgson, usually so affable, growled through his post-match duties in his disappointment. “I wouldn’t suggest for one minute that Liverpool didn’t deserve the victory,” he said. “Of the two teams they were the better but our own performance was really strong. We fought well, the shape was good throughout, so to lose in the 92nd minute was frustrating.” Regardless, this has been a resurgent season. For Liverpool it could yet be remarkable.
Man of the match: Xavi Alonso (Liverpool)

The Cottagers were superbly organised and stifled Liverpool until they came up with a late winner

The rewards eventually went to Liverpool at Craven Cottage, but there was admiration to be had in Fulham’s latest stubborn performance against one of the elite clubs. The home side, all selfless worth ethic, showed precisely why they have become such respected Premier League opponents.

Roy Hodgson has worked with a regular line-up and has proved what can be achieved with solid, sensible coaching. The team may appear unambitious at times but they have substance, even if they did finally crack, and they understand each other’s strengths. They have a huge work-rate, and benefit from a good, simple shape (4–4–2) and a clear understanding of their distinct roles, particularly when their opponents have the ball.

Liverpool took over the first half and pounded the Fulham goal, yet they only created two chances where the visiting player was freed beyond the last man: first after Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres’s superb inter-passing put the Spaniard away; then when a wonderful Gerrard cross gave Andrea Dossena a clear invitation. Credit must go to Fulham for the way they organised.

Brede Hangeland and Aaron Hughes know their strengths and refused to get pulled out to the flanks. The full-backs, John Pantsil and Paul Konchesky, are disciplined and restrained. In front of them there is protection by Simon Davies and Clint Dempsey, who graft with amazing energy to position themselves and prevent the opposition finding space in which they could attack down the wing. With Danny Murphy alongside the strong Dickson Etuhu, Fulham effectively fling down an eight-man barrier. It takes a team with good movement and continual overloading of numbers to create chances, and Liverpool were in exciting form.

Perhaps most admirable of all is that Fulham’s early defensive shape stems from the calm movements by their first line of defence, the two strikers. Bobby Zamora and Andy Johnson immediately retreated whenever Liverpool had the ball at the back (see diagram) and never chased lost causes or made irresponsible runs or reckless early challenges. They dropped off centrally between the opposition centre-backs and full-backs, and didn’t race early to close.

Charge in and they would have run the risk of an opposing full-back advancing down the flank, which would have the effect of pulling Fulham players out of position. But, with their forwards dropping back, Dempsey and Davies know they can sit in front of their full-backs rather than having to pressure an opponent who has forced beyond Zamora or Johnson. There were no holes for Liverpool to exploit, and the home side never lost their shape.

Hodgson has coached an average group of Premier League parts into a solid machine. His next trick has to be to coax extra flair whilst maintaining such defensive resolution. It is a conundrum Roy will juggle. Here they finally succumbed to aggressive Liverpool movement, but there was much to admire from his team in defeat.

“All round the fields of Anfield Road / Where once we watched the King Kenny play (and he could play) / Andrea Dossena on the wing / We had dreams and songs to sing / Of the glory round the fields of Anfield Road.” Yep, you read that right; Rafa’s gone off on one again. This time, fourth-goal machine Andrea Dossena will be rampaging up and down the left, a modern-day George Best spliced with the best bits of Johan Cruyff. Benitez has pulled selection surprises like this a couple of times already this season, notably away at Newcastle and Middlesbrough - so how will this one end up?

Exactly the same team that beat Manchester United 2-0 the other week: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Dempsey, Murphy, Etuhu, Davies, Zamora, Johnson.
Subs: Zuberbuhler, Nevland, Gera, Kamara, Dacourt, Kallio, Baird.

That title-chasing XI in full: Reina, Arbeloa, Insua, Carragher, Skrtel, Lucas, Alonso, Kuyt, Dossena, Torres, Gerrard.
Subs: Cavalieri, Agger, Ngog, Riera, Benayoun, Babel, Mascherano.

The word in brackets is not a spelling mistake: Steve Bennett (Kent)

Kick off: 5.30pm.

Andrea Dossena: seven million pounds worth of debate. “Don’t see your problem with Dossena being on the left wing,” says Mark Slade. “Liverpool need to win, he’s not the greatest defender but is good going forward, and has the safety net of Insua on the same side. And he’s a better option than Babel, that much I DO know. Now watch Insua have a mare.” Ah, but Insua looked fantastic round about the turn of the year, before he went off to play for the Argentina under-something-or-others, and was decent when he came back against Sunderland too. He’s particularly good going forward - but defensively not quite up there with Fabio Aurelio yet. Anything could happen here.

And we’re off! Fulham set the ball rolling, and within 20 seconds Zamora clips a ball forward to Dempsey, who is free in the box down the inside-left channel! Liverpool escape as the linesman flags for offside - but they’re lucky, because the Fulham man was miles on.

2 min: This is a really open start. Gerrard takes a hopeful swipe at a falling ball just a tad too far ahead of him in the Fulham box - his weak effort is deflected away - then Konchesky swings a decent deep cross into the Liverpool area from the left, forcing top book author Jamie Carragher to head clear with his eyebrows.

4 min: Liverpool calm things down by passing it around the back awhile. Fulham seem quite happy to let them do so.

5 min: Again Fulham spring the Liverpool back line, Murphy pinging it straight down the middle for Johnson. This is close as well; I’m not sure that was offside either, but once again that doesn’t stop the linesman raising his flag.

7 min: Dempsey threads the ball past Arbeloa down the left. For a second it looks like he might get a shot on target but Skrtel and Carragher crowd him out. They’re forced to concede a corner, from which nothing comes. Fulham have their tails up here.

9 min: Cutting inside from the right, Arbeloa goes on a very long run down the centre of the pitch. Fulham allow him to reach the edge of the box without so much as a challenge, but his attempt at a one-two with Torres doesn’t quite come off.

10 min: Torres, his back to goal, slips the ball to the left-hand edge of the area for the goal machine Dossena, who attempts a curler into the top right. Schwarzer tips the ball over. From the resulting corner, the ball drops out on the left to Skrtel, whose rising half-volley clips the top of the bar.

12 min: Liverpool are beginning to enjoy a lot of the ball. Arbeloa cuts inside from the right; he’s blocked. Kuyt swings a low cross in from the same wing; the ball’s hacked clear. Gerrard sets Kuyt off into acres down the right for a second time; his attempt at standing the ball up to the far post is shanked behind for a goal kick.

14 min: Still, Liverpool will want to watch themselves at the back. From nothing, Davies helps the ball down the right and suddenly Johnson is on his own with only Reina to beat! Only problem is, Davies’s pass has just too much weight on it, and the keeper comes out to claim with insouciant ease.

16 min: Skrtel gifts the ball to Zamora with a terrible pass out of defence. The Fulham striker steams forward and tries to slip Johnson free, but his right-to-left diagonal ball is too strong and flies out for a goal kick. “Shouldn’t you be referring to Goal Machine Andrea Dossena™?” wonders Patrick Crumlish. “It’s his given name, after all.”

17 min: Good work by Lucas down the right, and suddenly Torres has a smidgen of space to cut into the box. He’s tight on the byline and fires the ball into the centre - but Schwarzer has it covered all the way and claims before Kuyt can get anywhere near it.

19 min: Liverpool push Fulham back for a bit, Alonso nearly setting Dossena free with a first-time prod forward down the inside-left channel, then Insua cutting inside from the right and only just failing to slip Kuyt in on goal. Fulham are looking confident at the back when push comes to shove, though.

21 min: Liverpool are passing it around a lot but are getting absolutely nowhere. Fulham will be perfectly happy with the way the game has gone so far.

23 min: What a save by Schwarzer. Alonso pings a ball out wide left to Dossena. The £7m scoring star cushions the ball with his instep and rolls it to Gerrard, who sweeps into the area and lays off to Torres. The striker opens his body and steers the ball towards the bottom right - but the keeper is down quickly to palm the ball out. For a second it looks as though Kuyt might be able to poke home the rebound, but - surprise, surprise - he can’t get there quickly enough before the loose ball is cleared.

24 min: From a deep Kuyt cross from the right, Torres heads wide and high. That wasn’t a particularly easy chance - he was falling backwards and under pressure from Hangeland - but then it wasn’t that difficult and so not a particularly good effort either.

26 min: This is all Liverpool at the moment. Torres twists and turns on the edge of the area. He loses possession - but immediately slides in to poke the ball out to Alonso 20 yards out. Cutting in from the left, he takes an immediate wallop at the ball - but the effort is dragged well wide right.

30 min: It’s gone a bit scrappy.

31 min: Liverpool fans take advantage of the temporary lull in action to sing “Justice for the 96“. The 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster is 11 days away.

32 min: Alonso snaps the focus back to football: from a weak Fulham headed clearance, the Liverpool midfielder cuts across the ball on the edge of the area and sends a spectacular shot crashing off the right-hand side of the crossbar. That’s the second time they’ve hit the woodwork; Liverpool haven’t played brilliantly, but can now probably count themselves unlucky not to have the lead.

34 min: Torres scampers after a long ball down the left. He goes as far out as the touchline, cuts inside, reaches the edge of the area and smashes a low shot towards the bottom left. Schwarzer claims and holds on well with goal machine Dossena lurking.

35 min: If Liverpool weren’t unlucky to be leading before, they certainly are now. Gerrard slips a wonderful ball down the inside-right channel to spring Torres clear. He draws Schwarzer out and dinks the ball over him and towards the unguarded goal - but the ball bounces off the bottom of the left-hand post and out. Nobody’s there to follow in for the visitors, and Fulham survive.

37 min: THIS IS GETTING SILLY NOW. Liverpool hit the woodwork for the fourth time, Gerrard swinging a superlative deep cross in from the right, Dossena meeting it with a Keith Houchenesque diving header. The ball absolutely belabours the crossbar and twangs away from danger. Dossena was only eight yards out, and probably should have scored… but even so, Liverpool are stunningly unlucky at present.

40 min: Skrtel needlessly drags back Zamora, just outside his own box to the left of goal. Dempsey tries to curl the ball into the top-right corner, but Dossena rushes out quickly to close the angle and the Fulham forward lifts the ball miles over the bar under pressure.

42 min: Now it’s Liverpool’s turn to be gifted a daft free kick on the edge of the opposition box. Etuhu drags Torres, who has his back to goal, down just to the left of the box. Gerrard tries to hammer it goalwards, but Murphy is out quickly to block, then clear.

43 min: Liverpool certainly realise how important it is to win tonight, and their New York Or Bust approach is ensuring this game remains open. Gerrard twists and turns in the box but is brilliantly robbed by Murphy, who sets Davies rampaging down the right. His poor ball inside is snaffled by Alonso, and he nearly puts Torres in on goal with a slightly-too-long pass down the left. This is very entertaining.

HALF TIME: Fulham 0-0 Liverpool. Liverpool pass it around a lot. Again. Gerrard can’t quite bust Fulham open down the left. Arbeloa can’t quite bust them open down the right. And that’s it for the half. Liverpool really should be winning here - but they’re not. This is a situation Liverpool fans will be sadly familiar with this season. Can they break through in the second half - or is the chance of the title finally slipping from their grasp?

Andrea Dossena: seven million pounds worth of debate - and serial woodwork botherer. “As a Liverpool fan,” begins Nick Whalen, “I find it mildly unsettling that Andrea Dossena is now one of our better offensive players.” Meanwhile Vikramaditya Singh observes that the £7m Goal Machine is “pinging it off the crossbar like Ronaldinho on speed, like this…

… except you know Dossena’s skillz are real. I’m genuinely frightened by the magnitude of his talent.”

And we’re off again! Roy Hodgson and Rafa Benitez walk across the pitch from the Cottage to the dugouts. Warm applause all round. Everyone’s happy. The visitors set the ball rolling once more.

47 min: Fulham started the first half suffering from a couple of dodgy decisions from the linesman, and now it’s Liverpool’s turn to be denied unfairly by the same man. Alonso scoops the ball forward to send Kuyt totally clear in the box. The whistle blows immediately - but the striker looked onside. He’s having a complete shocker, this official.

49 min: Other than the Kuyt business, it’s a very quiet beginning to the second half.

50 min: Pantsil Rory Delaps it into the area from the right. Johnson is after the bouncing bomb, but can’t quite get there and is hounded out of it by Skrtel and Carragher. Liverpool need to up the tempo a bit, because it’ll not be long before the clock becomes the enemy, and panic sets in.

54 min: What a miss from Torres. Insua waltzes down the left, cuts inside, and floats a perfect ball into the centre for his star striker. All Torres has to do is choose his spot - but he can only nut a weak effort straight into the arms of Schwarzer.

55 min: Liverpool are beginning to boss play, and push Fulham back, but don’t seem able to hit the killer pass. First Alonso hits a cross from the right too strongly, then Dossena matches his feat from the left. Finally it’s Alonso again, but his shot from 20 yards, cutting in from the right, is lame and straight at Schwarzer.

58 min: Pantsil goes in the book for going in late with his studs up on Dossena’s boot.

62 min: A quiet period in the game, now. Fulham look pretty confident in their ability to hold their guests at the moment. Liverpool are beginning to lose faith; all the tempo has gone out of their game.

64 min: Alonso is doing everything he can to pick Liverpool up by the scruff of the neck, spraying passes left and right from a central position, 35 yards out. He can’t quite find the final pass, though. Both Pantsil and Hangeland are immense at the moment.

65 min: The freewheelin’ goalscorin’ machine called Dossena trundles off the pitch, to be replaced by Babel.

66 min: Carragher upends Johnson, 30-odd yards out, just to the right of the Liverpool area. Konchesky tries to hammer the resulting free kick into the top-right corner, but unlike the 2006 FA Cup final, doesn’t beat Reina. Then again, he hasn’t hopelessly mishit this one, so the keeper can easily work out the flight of the ball.

68 min: Under a long ball six yards from goal, Lucas challenges Schwarzer in the air. The keeper fingertips the ball out of play - but no corner is given. Liverpool are beginning to look very frustrated.

70 min: I’ve just been given a glass of champagne! Someone from the Observer is doing one, by all accounts. Isn’t that nice.

71 min: From a Fulham corner, Liverpool break clear five on three! They really should do better than they manage, Gerrard’s attempt to release Babel down the right inaccurate and weak. That’s very sloppy. Babel manages to get a shot in nevertheless - but the effort, heading towards the bottom left, is blocked by Pantsil, who then hacks clear of the lurking Kuyt.

73 min: I don’t think Liverpool are going to score tonight. Gerrard swings a ball into the six-yard box from the left, but with Torres diving in head first, Schwarzer somehow manages to palm away at the death.

75 min: Liverpool have scored 18 goals during the final 15 minutes of their games this season. They’ll have to make it at least 19 if they want to keep their title challenge alive.

76 min: A change apiece: Murphy is replaced by Dacourt, while Benayoun comes on for Kuyt. The atmosphere is electric at Craven Cottage.

79 min: Fulham replace Davies with Gera, the man who put Manchester United finally to sleep a couple of weeks ago. “Hold on a minute,” parps Jon Cummins. “Wayne Rooney can read?” Bah. I’m just glad this particular gag took as long as 79 minutes to arrive.

81 min: Carragher slides a stupendously good ball down the inside-right channel to Gerrard in the area. He pulls the ball into the centre, where it reaches the feet of Babel. Instead of hammering the ball first time, he jinks about before pulling the trigger - and the chance is gone. The ball bounces back out to Gerrard, who hammers an effort low and hard just wide left. Benayoun is inches from turning the ball in.

83 min: It’s just not happening for Liverpool: Gerrard tries to take a deep left-wing cross down at the far post, but his touch is heavy and the ball bounds out of play.

85 min: Fulham are awarded a free kick for absoultely nothing, Insua nipping in front of Gera just to the right of his own area. Why that’s a free kick is beyond me, there was no meaningful contact at all. Babel is booked for protesting. Reina catches the ball into the box, then looks to set Torres free with a long hoof down the right. The striker looks like breaking clear on goal! But Gera has gone in late on the keeper and referee Bennett pulls the play back to book him. Liverpool are incandescent with rage.

88 min: Nevland - once of Manchester United - replaces Johnson.

89 min: Skrtel is booked for a laughably cynical challenge. Dempsey is skidaddling into acres down the left, so the Liverpool striker clips the in-flight Fulham man’s ankles. There was plenty of cover, so that was a no-brainer for the referee.

90 min: There will be four added minutes of this; four minutes for Liverpool to save their title challenge. Benayoun brings down a loose ball just to the left of goal, turns to make himself a bit of space, but drags his low shot wide of goal.

90 min +2: HIGHLY DRAMATIC GOAL!!! Fulham 0-1 Liverpool. Babel cuts inside from the left. He shuttles the ball to Gerrard, who miscontrols. Benayoun picks the ball up, cutting in from the right, and hammers an unstoppable shot into the top left! That really is some finish. The Liverpool bench empties onto the pitch as Benayoun disappears under a mountain of men.

90 min +3: Gerrard is replaced by Agger.

FULL TIME: Fulham 0-1 Liverpool. Nevland loops a ball goalwards from the right, but Reina is always under it. And that’s the final whistle! Liverpool deserved that - and are still in this title race! And back on top of the league, two points clear of Manchester United - but having played two games more, of course. And Andrea Dossena was pretty good. “Do us a favour,” writes Liverpool fan Paul Lovatt. “It’s bad enough waiting so long for a goal without having to stare at Wayne Rooney the whole game.”