Liverpool lead by a nose after grandstand finish

Fulham 0 Liverpool 1

In the circumstances, others might have sulked and accepted an evening of sheer frustration. Needing to succeed at a venue where Manchester United failed so lamentably two weeks ago, they had struck the bar three times and the post once in a totally one-sided first half, then failed to break through until added time after a less eventful second period.

As a result of Benayoun's dramatic intervention, their lead is two points, at least until United play the first of their two games in hand at home to Aston Villa this afternoon. "We're gonna win the League," Liverpool's supporters were singing at the final whistle; though after 19 years it was perhaps surprising they had not forgotten the words.

Even Benitez, normally the epitome of cerebral detachment, allowed himself a little celebration after the goal, of which he said: "Hopefully it will be the most important goal of the season. The message at half-time was to keep doing the same things and we would score. We were working so hard and deserved to win."

There could be no argument with that, although Fulham's Roy Hodgson tried to make one for his team's "battling performance". He even suggested that his goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer made few saves – which was in fact because most shots in that extraordinary first half flew past him and came back off the frame of the goal.

Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres were irresistible in that period with Gerrard, utterly overshadowing his rival captain Danny Murphy, involved in fashioning every one of those four closest shaves. The fun began when Xabi Alonso sent a long ball forward for Torres, who controlled it superbly and set up Andrea Dossena to hit a swerving shot that Schwarzer had to push for a corner. It fell for Martin Skrtel, whose drive took a touch off Dossena and struck the bar.

On the half-hour, following another corner taken by Gerrard, Alonso set himself for a 20-yard drive that also twanged Schwarzer's bar. The goalkeeper was beaten again as Gerrard carved the defence open and Torres, in the inside-right channel, rolled his shot against the inside of the far post. Remarkably, Dossena then met Gerrard's cross with a stooping header that came back off the crossbar.

By half-time it was a surprise to see the posts at the Putney End still standing. United supporters following the game on radio or television must have been unsure whether to laugh or continue biting their nails. But as the second half wore on they would have become increasingly confident that this was not to be Liverpool's day.

A little of the fluency disappeared and Benitez introduced Ryan Babel and then Benayoun. When the Israeli shot into the side-netting from no great distance, most teams would have given up the chase. Liverpool kept powering on, encouraged by four minutes of added time, in which Benayoun received a lucky break 10 yards out and buried his shot jubilantly past Schwarzer. It was the goal they desperately desired and clearly deserved.