Bill Shankly once said: "My idea was to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility...I wanted Liverpool to be untouchable".The club he dragged up from the doldrums of the old Second Division have not been untouchable or even close to a bastion of invincibility this season but they were able to give a credible account of themselves as Anfield marked the 50th anniversary of his arrival with a narrow 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic.
Goals from David Ngog and a touch of class by Fernando Torres were enough to secure maximum points for the Reds despite a late consolation by Charles Nzogbia.
Liverpool went into the game on the back of just three wins in all competitions against a Wigan side that had conceded 15 goals in their previous three games and were intent on going one better than the solitary point earned at L4 in January 2008 with a 1-1 draw during what was a turbulent spell off the field for the Reds. Rafael Benitez was hoping to make the Latics his eighth unbeaten game against a bottom half side this season.
The Spaniard made three changes from the side that slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal three days previous with Martin Skrtel replacing Jamie Carragher in central defence with the veteran covering the right-back role in place of injured Glen Johnson. Lucas Leiva had to settle for a place on the substitutes' bench, bizarrely in favour of Fabio Aurelio in central midfield. Also starting on the bench was Torres who was replaced by David Ngog.
Prior to kick-off, the Kop displayed a mosaic proclaiming 'Shanks The Legend' alongside banners bearing the visionary Scot's image including one which read 'The spirit of Shankly still shines' as legends from those halcyon days of Shankly formed a guard of honour for the two teams.
Daniel Agger tried an ambitious long-range effort on three minutes which floated wide, to the right of Chris Kirkland's goal. Ngog opened the scoring with his sixth goal in eight starts just before the tenth minute when he beat Anfield old boy Kirkland to deftly head home an Aurelio cross. Kirkland was left in a little discomfort not long after that when he landed awkwardly in a clash for the ball with team mate Emmerson Boyce as Ngog bore down on goal again.
At the other end, Wigan attemped to threaten when Paul Scharner latched onto a N'zobia through ball but fired straight into the safe hands of Pepe Reina from close range. N'zogbia went close himself not long after with a cross-cum-shot that narrowly missed Reina's goal.
Kirkland was called into action after Ngog received a quickly taken throw-in to Kuyt who forced England's World Cup hopeful to block from close-range. Liverpool continued to dominate and saw an Ngog effort cleared off the line by Hendry Thomas midway through the half. Hugo Rodallega capitalised on a misplaced pass to free Jordi Gomez who, like Scharner, fired a tame shot into the arms of Reina as the visitors attempted to even things out.
Minutes from the break, Ngog fired wide across the face of the goal after Aurelio's ball deflected off Thomas into the Frenchman's path as the fourth official indicated four minutes of stoppage time at the end of the half but the Reds went into the interval a goal to the good.
On the pitch, members of Shankly's two FA Cup-winning teams of 1965 and 1974 were joined by members of his family as Anfield fell silent as two Scottish pipers played 'Amazing Grace' to which the Kop attempted to accompany with chants of the great man's name as the famous old ground remembered the man who gave birth to a footballing revolution.
At the start of the second half, the Kop chanted "when you hear the noise of the Bill Shankly boys, we'll be coming down the road"; based on a similar chant aired by Scotland supporters when following their national side. He would have no doubt been delighted as his former employers demonstrated some fine one-touch passing which freed Kuyt on 49 minutes but he was thwarted in the box by Kirkland.
Javier Mascherano, who had suffered a brief concussion in the first half after taking Mohamed Diame's attempted long ball square in the face, let fly from distance but saw his effort dip on the wrong side of Kirkland's crossbar in the minutes that followed. Ngog had the perfect opportunity to extend Liverpool's lead ten minutes later but failed to connect with a low Gerrard cross at the far post.
Benitez introduced Lucas and Torres as the Reds attempted to double their advantage with 25 minutes remaining but it was Wigan who went closest to scoring. On 74 minutes, Latics substitute Jason Scotland capitalised on a looping cross into the box which caught out Reina, allowing the Trinidadian a free volley on goal. Unfortunately for him, his effort hit the crossbar and had most of the 41,116 fans inside Anfield breathing a sigh of relief.
A minute later Torres, making his 100th appearance for the club, netted Liverpool's second after rounding Kirkland in a style of which legendary Kop marksmen Kevin Keegan, watching on as a guest of honour, would have approved. Despite sidestepping the Wigan stopper, his tap-in was blocked by Titus Bramble. A goalmouth melee ensued but El Nino scrambled home the rebound from a couple of yards.
Alberto Aquilani was brought on for Benayoun as Roberto Martinez's side piled on the pressure in a desperate bid to stage an audacious late comeback. In the 86th minute the Italian playmaker emulated the overhead kick he attempted during his debut in the Carling Cup defeat to Arsenal but saw it fall into the hands of Kirkland.
In stoppage time, Nzogbia capitalised on poor marking by the home side to dance past several defenders before firing a low shot past a sprawling Reina but Liverpool held on. It wasn't the performance of a bastion of invincibility but, as the old adage says, a win is a win.
Final score: Liverpool 2-1 Wigan Athletic
Liverpool: Reina, Carragher, Agger, Skrtel, Insua, Benayoun (Aquilani), Mascherano, Aurelio (Lucas), Kuyt, Gerrard, Ngog (Torres). Subs not used: Cavalieri, Kyrgiakos, Darby, Dossena.
Wigan: Kirkland, Thomas, Scharner, N'zogbia, Gomez (Koumas), Boyce, Bramble, Rodallega, Melchiot, Diame (Scotland), Figueroa. Subs not used: Amaya, Cho, Sinclair, De Ridder, Kingson.
Attendance: 41,116
