Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard in another spat after swinging arm
fells Michael Brown in Portsmouth win
Liverpool
last night notched a much-needed win in their race for Champions
League qualification but the victory was overshadowed when Steven
Gerrard appeared to floor Portsmouth's
Michael Brown with a swinging arm.
The Reds' captain escaped
a yellow card but was immediately substituted in the second half of the
4-1 triumph at Anfield.
Only a week ago Gerrard found himself in a similar situation for an
alleged v-sign made at referee Andre Marriner in the defeat at Wigan.
That went no further as the official said he had seen the incident at
the time and decided it did not warrant any action.
Liverpool's hero was Fernando Torres, who scored his 14th and
15th goals in the Premier League this season, with Ryan Babel and
Alberto Aquilani - registering his first in English football - also on
target before Nadir Belhadj's late consolation.
Flashpoint: Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard
gestures as Michael Brown of Portsmouth lies injured
But Gerrard's apparent forearm to the back of Brown's neck was the
main talking point of the evening.
Referee Stuart Attwell was
very close to the incident but took no
action but it remains to be seen whether he will be asked to look at it
again by the Football Association. Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is
confident, however, that Gerrard will escape retrospective action for
the clash.
'I don't think so,' said the Spaniard when asked if he
was worried about punishment against his captain. 'I haven't seen it
but I was asking and I think it was nothing.'
Benitez also played
down the immediate substitution of Gerrard, adding: 'We were thinking of
changing Torres, Glen Johnson and Gerrard and we did it.'
Job done: Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez shakes
hands with Gerrard as the skipper is substituted
Portsmouth manager Avram Grant said he also did not see the incident
but felt Attwell should have spotted it.
'I
didn't see it. I will speak with Michael Brown and then I will tell
you,' he said. 'They told me the referee was four metres away from this
so I think the referee needs to see from four metres what I didn't from
40 metres,' he said. 'Personally I like Steven Gerrard. I think he is a
good player and a fair player.'
Benitez was more happy to talk
about his team's performance. 'It was a good game. We were trying to
play well for the fans and score goals,' he added.
'It was an
important goal in an important week. It was really good for Aquilani and
really good for the team. He has shown he has quality and he will have
more confidence and that is good.
'We have seen a lot of
players playing well today and that is good for me because it gives me
more (selection) problems.'
Grant refused to lay the blame on
goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown, whose clearance straight to Gerrard set up
Torres' first goal.
'Jamie is a good goalkeeper. I will not
speak about mistakes because it is part of the game,' he added.
'We started the game okay, we played how we wanted to play and then
came the first goal and we lost our shape and they scored a second and
third goal in seven minutes and the game was finished.'
