Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, was as optimistic as possible in the circumstances. “He thinks he will be fit, but we have to wait and do a scan,” he said. “It was the right ankle. The pitch was a little bit uneven, but we will see. The positive news is that he has confidence.”
More good news was that Robbie Fowler celebrated the offer of a new one-year contract with his fifth goal since rejoining the club in January, setting Liverpool on their way to a club record for successive victories in all competitions, 11 since losing to Arsenal at Highbury on March 12.
“The most important thing is not that we continue winning games, but that we are continuing to win games after 59 matches, or I don't know how many now,” Benítez said. “At this moment we are closer to Chelsea and Manchester United. At this moment we feel we can do something more. Eighty-two points is a fantastic figure, but maybe winning more points against the top sides could be the difference.”
It was only Portsmouth's second defeat since early March, but with their Premiership future assured last weekend, they could afford to relax and the mood among their supporters was celebratory. Harry Redknapp, who picked up the manager of the month award for April before kick-off, will meet Milan Mandaric, the chairman, and Alexandre Gaydamak, the co-owner, today and said: “Coming to the game was a nice feeling. We've done what we set out to do. I'm going to sit down with Milan and Alexandre and I think they want to build a team. We were a top-ten team when I left [in the autumn of 2004] and we want to get back there.”
Portsmouth made the better chances of the first half, but although Liverpool learnt at the interval that United were well ahead, they stepped up their game. After 50 minutes a quick and clever reverse pass from Fernando Morientes on the edge of the penalty area gave Fowler a few inches of space, but they were all he needed. Controlling the ball with his right foot, he shot low with his left between the attempted blocks of Linvoy Primus and Dejan Stefanovic and past Dean Kiely.
“With a pre-season, he [Fowler] will be fitter, and he has the game intelligence you saw today,” Benítez said. “He can give us lot of things. He's playing with passion.”
Peter Crouch, on as a substitute, scored the second after 82 minutes when Kiely could only scoop Djibril Cissé's low cross into the path of the England forward. Portsmouth hit back late on when two of their own substitutes combined, Ognjen Koroman converting a cross by Wayne Routledge for his first goal for the club. That denied Liverpool a record-equalling 34th clean sheet, but Cissé had the final word, running on to Crouch's long pass and finishing calmly.