Liverpool show title credentials

Liverpool showed the true mettle of prospective champions yesterday by rousing themselves to win with a late penalty by Michael Owen after Tottenham, living up to their third-place status, had clawed their way back to parity. Danny Murphy looked to have won an evenly balanced match with an outstanding shot 18 minutes from the end, but Dean Richards justified an adventurous foray upfield with a fine equaliser.

Then, eight minutes before the final whistle and just when Spurs thought they were going back to London with a point, Owen again demonstrated his flair for pulling the fat out of the fire. His teasing run won the penalty and, unaffected by all his misses from the spot, the England striker stepped up to convert it and increase Liverpool's lead over Arsenal at the top of the Premiership to four points.

Liverpool, winners of their last five games in all competitions, made two changes. Emile Heskey had not recovered from the groin injury that forced him to withdraw during the second half of the midweek Champions League victory in Moscow and was replaced by Steven Gerrard, back after missing two games because of a hip injury. Up front, El Hadji Diouf took over from Milan Baros.

Spurs, who had not won at this ground in the League since 1993, contented themselves with just a single alteration. It was quite a significant one, nonetheless. Matthew Etherington gave way in midfield to Gus Poyet, scorer of the winning goal at White Hart Lane in April when Liverpool were last defeated in the Premiership.

Here, Tottenham's first priority was clearly not to lose. At least, they defended in such depth for the first 20 minutes that Liverpool, for all their attacking intent, could not find a way through the massed ranks of white shirts. The clearest glimpse the home side got of goal was when Jamie Carragher's powerful header found Owen in some space in the penalty area, but the alert Kasey Keller snuffed out the danger.

Oddly Spurs were closer to scoring first. When Jamie Redknapp, welcomed warmly by the Liverpool fans on his return to Anfield, was fouled 25 yards out by Dietmar Hamann, Robbie Keane and Stephen Carr worked a short free-kick routine for Redknapp to strike a shot so powerful that Jerzy Dudek could not hold it and the goalkeeper had to be grateful for Djimi Traore's rescuing clearance.

After that, though, it was all Liverpool in a seven-minute burst of attacking that did everything but yield a goal. Somehow, Diouf and Salif Diao failed to make anything of Owen's square pass across the penalty area after the striker had pulled down Sami Hyypia's cross-field pass quite beautifully. Then Diao, running on to Carragher's piercing through-pass, hooked the ball inches wide of the far post.

Finally, in the 32nd minute, it looked as though Liverpool had made the breakthrough. A swift interchange of passes through the middle of the Tottenham defence saw Owen sweep the ball past Keller. However, the celebrations were cut short by referee Mike Riley, who awarded a free-kick to Spurs for the pulling of Richards's shirt by Diouf.

Apart from a long-range shot by Goran Bunjevcevic that went wide, not a lot happened in the early part of the second half. Liverpool were finding it harder to get forward, though, and Spurs again nearly took the lead. When Keane wriggled clear on the left and found Poyet with a low angled pass, the Uruguayan looked to have scored with a shot on the turn until Dudek athletically flew to his left to turn the ball for a corner.

Poyet was denied again from the corner, taken by Redknapp, his header being cleared off the line by Hamann. All Liverpool had to offer in response was a shot swept high over the bar by Owen after he had been ushered through the middle by Baros, who had been sent on to replace Diouf after 58 minutes. All, that is, until Murphy decided to do something exceptional in the 72nd minute.

Put in possession by Hamann with a pass from out on the right, Murphy beat Keller all ends up with a shot curled expertly into the top corner from the edge of the area.

But Liverpool were allowed only 10 minutes to believe they had the match won. Milenko Acimovic, only just on as a substitute for Poyet, beat Hamann on the left and sent over a cross that Richards, up with his side's attack, headed irresistibly into the net.

Still the excitement was not over. The chant from the Spurs fans of "you're not singing any more" died in their throats as Owen, slipping the ball past Chris Perry and driving at goal from the left, was brought down in the penalty area by Carr. Owen had missed six of his 13 penalties before yesterday, but Liverpool kept faith with him and he duly slotted this one low past Keller.

Match details

Liverpool: Dudek, Carragher, Traore, Hyypia, Riise, Gerrard (Smicer 68), Hamann, Diao, Murphy, Diouf (Baros 58), Owen.
Subs Not Used: Kirkland, Babbel, Cheyrou.
Booked: Diouf, Smicer.
Goals: Murphy 72, Owen 86 pen.

Tottenham: Keller, Perry, Richards, Bunjevcevic, Carr, Freund, Redknapp (Etherington 90), Poyet (Acimovic 80), Davies, Keane, Sheringham (Ferdinand 75).
Subs Not Used: Hirschfeld, Gardner.
Booked: Redknapp, Carr, Richards, Freund.
Goals: Richards 82.

Att: 44,084
Ref: M Riley (W Yorkshire).

Copyright - The Telegraph