Liverpool 3-0 Lille: The Daily Mirror match report

It may have been damaged below the water line, but Liverpool's ship is not sunk just yet.

A spirited, determined performance at Anfield last night gave them the victory required over Lille in a tense second leg, to navigate their passage through to the quarter finals of the Europa League.

It is very much second prize for the Reds, but it is still one of only two European trophies on offer, and one, remember, that can be raised with much ceremony at the end of the season to counter their winger Albert Rieraís assertion that under manager Rafa Benitez the vessel is fatally holed.

They were kept afloat by goals from - who else - Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, and they even survived some tense final moments when the knowledge that a late reply for their French opponents would put them out seemed to strike Anfield rigid with fear.

That late goal inevitably came, but unlike their previous European experiences this season when they have been dealt a killer blow, it was Torres who provided a third in the 90th minute to ease Liverpool through, and revive memories of past European glories.

While this was never a night to match those famous ones here under Benitez against the likes of Juventus, Real Madrid and Chelsea, and while it wasn't the performance of those stunning victories either, it was at least some relief from the crisis that seems to have gripped the Merseyside club for so long this season.

You still get the sense that it is the pursuit of fourth place in the Premier League which will ultimately decide if Benitez is to keep his head above water at the club, but should he steer his much-maligned side to the final of this competition in Hamburg in May, then it may act as a life-jacket for his ambitions to remain here a while longer.

It was Torres, a strong supporter of Benitez, who supplied the goals that won the tie, with his fifth goal in five starts since his return from injury, to suggest that he is fast coming back to the sort of form that can yet earn Liverpool a berth in the Champions League next season.

And with skipper Gerrard also chipping in a goal in his 300th game as captain of this famous club, spring may yet bring some shoots of recovery for a side that has been battered throughout the winter.

Setting aside the distraction of Riera's incredible and untimely outburst, Benitez had enough on his plate going into this tie, because his tactical credentials were tested to the limit by the scoreline from the first leg and his opponents' obvious strengths.

The Liverpool manager with the perennial European dilemma of whether to effectively stick or twist, a situation that was heightened in those agonising final minutes, when Gerrard and Torres had given their team a lead sufficient to win the tie, but not to prevent a late Lille goal putting them out.

The response of the home side in scoring that pressure-relieving third in the final minute suggested they are slowly edging their way back to something like their confident form of last season.

But ultimately, this was a hard-won victory, taken on the back of a determined, driving performance that was inspired by an early goal provided from the unlikely source of Lucas pouring forward in the opening minutes with some intent.

The equaliser in the tie was provided by skipper Steven Gerrard from the penalty spot, allowing the home team to settle down to their usual, more considered probing approach, asking Lille to come out in the process.

It was a fine move which brought the goal too, even if the theatrical tumble at the end of a gliding, graceful run by Brazilian Lucas was at odds with the skill that had brought him there in the first place.

Referee Nicola Rizzoli had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, but after consulting with his many experimental assistants, he didn't even brandish a yellow card, suggesting they too felt that the Liverpool man had perhaps held his foot out in search of contact.

A penalty then, if a slightly soft one, but no one at Anfield bar the lively travelling support complained, because it at least set up the tie and allowed a terse, typical European game to develop.

That tension of a tie in the balance was illustrated beautifully around the half hour mark, when first Liverpool thought they had scored as Daniel Agger rose to meet Gerrard's corner, only for the ball to be blocked on its goalwards trajectory by Yohan Cabaye.

Then Anfield held its collective breath for what seemed like seconds, as the star of the first leg Eden Hazard again displayed his sublime skills, with a ghosting run that allowed him to ease between the lunges of both centre halves and fix the whites of the keeper's eyes.

Fortunately for Liverpool, that keeper happens to be Pepe Reina, undoubtedly one of the best in the world at present, for his commanding presence as much as anything, and he stood tall to brilliantly deflect the clever flick over the bar.

That roused Liverpool, who had perhaps sat, typically for them, too deep after their goal to equalise the tie, and again it was who Torres who was to prove the inspiration.

He seemed to be getting his range when he danced down the left and cut inside to shoot early on, then fine tuned with a looping, arcing header that unfortunately for Liverpool floated the wrong side of the post.

Finally, as the game crept into the second period, the Spanish striker found his range magnificently with a wonderful, considered finish on 49 minutes that gave Liverpool the crucial advantage.

A long ball from Babel bounced rather exaggeratedly over the unfortunate Rami's head, and the Spanish striker darted past his marker onto the ball to deliver a delicious finish with the outside of his right foot.

From there is seemed a question of whether the tension would suffocate Liverpool, but they resisted manfully, and Torres eventually out everyone out of their misery as the clock struck 90 and even as Lille rallied for one final assault.

It was a simpler affair as Gerrard raced down the right and shot across the keeper, with Torres alert enough to steer the rebound into the empty net. It keeps the Liverpool ship still sailing on towards Hamburg, with Benitez still at the helm, the deck not yet quite in flames.

Liverpool v Lille pictures, stats and as-it-happened text commentary