Liverpool secured their fifth straight victory in the Premiership with a 2-1 win over Reading on Saturday.

The hosts were made to work hard for their win as Reading took an early lead through Marek Matejovsky. Javier Mascherano equalized in the 19th minute with his first goal for Liverpool and Fernando Torres continued his red hot form in front of the goal by scoring the winner in the 48th minute.

The hosts had a shaky opening to the match as they struggled to find their rhythm and Kevin Doyle took full advantage of the situation to snatch the ball of Fabio Aurelio's feet but his cross was cut short by Martin Skrtel.

The visitors took a deserved lead in the 5th minute when a poor clearance by the Liverpool defense saw Matejovsky take possession of the ball outside the penalty area before smashing a brilliant shot past Pepe Reina to put his side in the lead.

Stung by the goal, Liverpool pressed forward and nearly equalized minutes later when Steven Gerrard found Torres with a square pass but Marcus Hahnemann raced off the line to clear the danger.

The hosts equalized in the 19th minute when Mascherano raced past Stephen Hunt to hit an unstoppable drive in the top corner of the net to score his first goal for Liverpool.

The hosts were growing in confidence and Hahnemann had to be at his best to deny Ryan Babel while Xabi Alonso hit his shot inches high over the cross bar.

Liverpool took the lead three minutes into the second half when Torres headed home Gerrard's free kick to become the first Liverpool striker since Robbie Fowler to score 20 goals in a season.

Both the teams had chances to score a goal late in the game but were unable to hit the target as Liverpool moved three points clear of Everton in the race to claim the final Champions League spot.