Liverpool 2-1 Middlesbrough: Last gasp goal seals victory for Reds

Rafa Benitez wants his side to "win ugly", and he certainly got his wish here because this was the Bella Emberg of Premier League victories.

Quite how Liverpool escaped with all three points is a mystery not even Basildon Bond could explain.

But at least they had the decency to sneak out of Anfield just a little shame-faced at the spoils that put them top of the table.

Even Benitez admitted his side had won against the evidence of his own eyes.

Liverpool were truly terrible until the last four minutes as they somehow denied a Middlesbrough side that were heading for a deserved win.

Mind you, it was some end to a desperate contest. Anfield became a Saturday madhouse of Russ Abbot proportions in the closing stages and you half expected Cooperman to come to the home side's rescue.

Instead, it was Superman himself, Steven Gerrard, who left Boro, in the words of their manager Gareth Southgate, "broken-hearted."

It left Benitez mostly embarrassed, but also trying to put a positive spin on a performance that at least maintains a 100 per cent start to the campaign, even if their most ardent supporter barely knows how.

The Reds were far from impressive in snatching a win at Sunderland last weekend and were lucky to escape with a 0-0 draw in their Champions League qualifier first leg against Belgians Standard Liege.

The Spaniard had suggested even before this game that his side are still undercooked after a pre-season disrupted by the Euro 2008 success of his fellow countrymen.

That is why he spoke of "winning ugly", because Liverpool simply failed to do that often enough last season.

They dropped 15 points at home in finishing a distant fourth behind champions Manchester United, many of those to sides like Boro who came to Anfield with an intelligent game plan and a real determination to gain some reward.

Boro should have won this match but Benitez couldn't help but be impressed by the spirit shown by his side, if not their form.

"We didn't play well and we haven't played well in our three games so far this season, but I can take positives from it because we have taken three points without playing well," he explained.

"We didn't do it enough last time. Too often we had situations like this and we lost games - we might not have won this a year ago.

"But the top sides have the quality to score goals even when they are not playing well, and we managed to do that.

"I think this shows our quality and certainly our character because we showed the mentality to win here.

"People say we were lucky but I prefer to believe we showed we have match winners like Steven Gerrard, and that we have the quality we need this season."

Boro had looked like snatching this game even before substitute Mido scored a wonderful goal on 70 minutes with a perfect left foot shot from 25 yards.

They controlled long tracts of play, and in David Wheater and Robert Huth, had the outstanding performers. But with the clock ticking down, Jamie Carragher of all people exploited rare hesitancy in the visiting defence to hammer a shot goalwards that deflected cruelly into the net off Emanuel Pogatetz.

Even then Southgate's men should have snatched a winner when Jeremie Aliadiere rounded Jose Reina only to see Carragher block his cross.

And in the fourth minute of injury time Gerrard galloped onto the only knock down Liverpool won from countless long balls all day, to steer home a wonderful winner.

Southgate said: "What Liverpool have is resilience - and a couple of players who can get important goals at the right time, as Torres and now Gerrard have done in recent weeks.

They are what they are but we have got to believe we can match them.

"The top four is a long term aim for us and we have got a lot of improving to do. But I think the players can even surprise themselves with what they can achieve. There is no point bothering if you don't believe you can get into the top four.

"I believe we are capable of aiming that high because there are a good bunch of young players here who have a lot of improvement in them."

Goalscorer Mido struck for the second time this season and looked sharp when he came on in the second half and Southgate ruled out any chance of the striker moving to Wigan on loan.

He insisted the big Egyptian would get plenty of chances at Boro this season.

Benitez, for his part, was keen to talk about replacements and he hinted that a much-needed wide player would be in place before the transfer deadline.

Liverpool: Reina 7; Arbeloa 6 (El Zhar 83), Carragher 7, Skrtel 6, Dossena 4 (Aurelio 75, 5); Kuyt 5, Gerrard 8, Alonso 6, Benayoun 5 (Babel 65, 5); Keane 6, Torres 6.

Middlesbrough: Turnbull 7; Wheater 8, Huth 7, Pogatetz 6, Taylor 6 (Hoyte 75, 5); Aliadiere 6, O'Neil 6, Shawkey 6, Downing 6; Tuncay 7 (Digard 87); Alves 6 (Mido 70, 7).

Referee: Mike Riley 5