G&T the toast of Anfield - Gerrard and Torres roar out warning to Europe

Benitez may be reluctant to admit it, but missing out on a top-four finish is surely one scenario he can cross off his worry list after further compelling evidence from Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard that they are developing into a partnership as potent as any in Europe.

Mersey sweet: Torres slips the ball past Howard to give Liverpool the lead at Anfield

Torres provided the finish this time, capitalising on a moment's hesitancy from Yakubu, and if it was scant reward for Liverpool's overwhelming first-half supremacy, it was still enough to open a decisive-looking five-point gap over their only rivals for the final Champions League spot.

Yakubu may have proved a lethal cutting edge in and around opposing penalty areas this season, but he was a liability on the edge of his own as he dithered over a clearance after seeming to have won a tussle for possession with Xabi Alonso.

Dirk Kuyt pounced on the loose ball and stepped aside to leave the final touch to Torres, who obliged in his usual unerring fashion by rifling a 12-yard drive past the advancing Tim Howard to give Liverpool the ideal lift of a breakthrough in only the seventh minute.

Chances came and went after that at a rate which must have alarmed both managers — David Moyes because they were all at one end and Benitez because they all went to waste.

Koptastic: Dirk Kuyt and scorer Fernando Torres enjoy the adulation of the Kop

Gerrard and Torres were at the hub of most in a one-sided first half that left many a Liverpool follower musing that, were it not for Cristiano Ronaldo's blistering form for Manchester United, it would have been possible to imagine their in-form forwards being in the frame for the Footballer of the Year award.

Torres's tally of goals is now a remarkable 28 from 38 appearances, and he continues to prowl opposition territory with a pace and purpose that suggests there will be many more before his debut season in the Barclays Premier League is out.

Gerrard may seldom have indicated an eagerness to forsake his beloved central midfield berth, yet his new advanced role, just behind Torres, is beginning to look the surest way of putting his energy and enterprise to maximum use.

If there is a concern for Benitez, as his side close in on another Champions League mission, it has to be the shortage of scoring alternatives, with Dirk Kuyt, for all his other admirable qualities, again looking most culpable.

The Holland striker has adapted willingly and effectively to his rightflank switch, which is just as well, given his continuing fallibility in front of goal.

His suffering was never better illustrated than in the 16th minute when, after being set up by Torres, he managed to hit Tony Hibbert with the goal gaping, then saw his follow-up effort tipped round the post by Howard.

The pressure continued to mount on Everton, with Gerrard's delivery from set-pieces a constant threat and his range of passing testing Howard and his defenders to the limit.

Moyes' subdued side somehow survived, but only by the width of the post in the 40th minute as Gerrard unleashed an unstoppable first-time volley from 35 yards and saw it bounce back off the upright after flying past the airborne Howard.

Benitez's judgment was apparent in his defensive selections, as well, as he once more shunted Jamie Carragher over to right back to accommodate Martin Skrtel and saw his show of faith amply repaid by another resolute performance from the recent £6million signing from Zenit St Petersburg.

Most baffling of all for Moyes had to be the lack of spirit or urgency from his side, particularly in view of the opposition and prize at stake. Indeed, the only real sign of passion came in the 72nd minute when Phil Neville had to make his way across the pitch to be substituted by Leighton Baines.

Clearly allowing a sense of resentment to build up, as the home crowd booed and jeered him every step of the way, he angrily snatched his tracksuit top from the kitman before reluctantly accepting a brief handshake from Moyes.

As a last throw of the dice, centre back Phil Jagielka was pressed into service as an emergency striker, and there was the briefest sign of panic when Skrtel managed to volley an attempted clearance on to the Kop roof.

Liverpool held firm, though, and it was a measure of Everton's shortcomings that Pepe Reina had to think back to the second minute, and a comfortable stop from Mikel Arteta, for his only save of the game.