The game started brightly with Dirk Kuyt forcing an early save out of the Boro keeper before Robbie Keane and Yossi Benayoun shot wide. At the other end Pepe Reina had to be alert to tip a shot from Andrew Taylor over the bar.
Andrea Dossena and Aliadiere clashed heads on 15 minutes and the game had to be stopped while both players received treatment. Unfortunately this stoppage ruined the flow of the game and it failed to regain its earlier momentum.
There were still some good moments however. Fernando Torres had a penalty claim when he went down in the box while Steven Gerrard had a shot go narrowly wide. Keane and Torres then combined to find the Spaniard some space in the box but Robert Huth managed to get back and deflect the shot out for a corner.
In the second half Torres again came close while at the other end Tuncay brilliantly flicked the ball past Jamie Carragher before shooting to close to Reina.
The opening goal arrived on 70 minutes but everyone inside Anfield was shocked at which end it was scored at. Boro subsitute Mido received the ball 25 yards out after Xabi Alonso had dithered too long with it, turned and fired a fine shot into the bottom right hand corner.
Liverpool drew level five minutes from time from the most unlikely of sources. Alonso's cross was blocked by a Boro defender's hand but the referee played advantage when the ball came to Carragher 20 yards out. He took a shot and when the ball took a wicked deflection off Pogatez the Reds were level.
Boro almost retook the lead when Reina came running out of his goal and missed the ball but Carragher was on hand to pressurise Mido into shooting wide.
In the first minute of injury time the Reds had a free kick on the edge of the penalty box. Gerrard's shot was heading for the top corner before the keeper palmed it over the bar. Martin Skrtel headed wide from the resulting corner.
That looked to be that but you can't write the Reds off when Steven Gerrard is on the pitch. Alonso's last minute cross was headed clear as far as the Liverpool captain on the edge of the penalty box and he scored the winner with an excellent drive into the top right corner.
