Steven Gerrard saved the blushes for Liverpool as his well struck penalty against Portmouth helped his side to maintain their three point lead at the top of the Premier League table.

Liverpool were struggling to create any real chances for much of the game as manager Tony Adams decided to go with a defensive approach in his first game in charge. The move seemed to have worked for Portsmouth as they held out for more than three quarters of the game before wrong decision by Papa Bouba Diop saw Liverpool win the penalty with Gerrard coolly slotting the ball past David James.

Fresh from their vital win away to Chelsea last weekend, Liverpool were on the attack right from the kick off with Portsmouth taking to the field with just one striker up front. Dirk Kuyt had an early chance to put Liverpool in front but his shot was parried away comfortably by James.

Portsmouth's best chance of the first half fell to Diop when he made a hash of a free header which he directed straight into the waiting hands of Reina. Kuyt had another chance to break the deadlock while James came once again to Portsmouth's rescue to parry Gerrard's stinging drive.

Liverpool stepped up the pressure in the second half but though they dominated the possession, the hosts were unable to break past a solid Portsmouth defense. Just when it looked like both the teams will have to share the points, a moment of madness from Diop saw the midfielder handle a Liverpool corner inside the area and Gerrard made no mistake from the penalty spot to secure all three points for his side.