A later brace form Fernando Torres helped Liverpool maintain their title challenge as they secured a 2-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday.

With Manchester United winning on Saturday, the onus was on Liverpool and Chelsea to secure a positive result that would see them remain in touch with the league leaders. It was Liverpool who dominated the possession early in the game with Xabi Alonso and Yossi Benayoun forcing good saves from Petr Cech.

Torres almost broke the deadlock midway through the first half after creating some space in the penalty area but Alex put in a last ditch tackle to deny the Spaniard. With just seconds remaining in the first half, an error from Cech saw the Chelsea keeper parry Albert Riera's shot straight on to Ashley Cole and the ball rolled inches wide of the target.

Liverpool continued to press forward in the second half with Dirk Kuyt and Steven Gerrard going close to scoring. Any scant hopes of a Chelsea win were dashed on the hour mark when referee Mike Riley harshly sent off Frank Lampard who put in a legal challenge to win the ball from Alonso.

The hosts tried to take advantage of their numerical superiority but Chelsea were determined to hold out for a draw. Just when it looked as if both the teams will be sharing the points, Torres put Liverpool in a deserved lead by converting from Aurelio’s cross in the 89th minute before putting the result beyond doubt a minute later by scoring a second after Benayoun snatched the ball off Cole.