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It must have gone against all of Rafael Benítez’s instincts to send Fernando Torres out in the driving Mbt trainers snow last night, but, finally, in the third minute of stoppage time, the Liverpool forward got the chance that he craved.

Showing the cold-eyed instincts of a world-class goalscorer, he secured a dramatic victory that gave his team hope last night in their bid for a place in the Champions League next season.

For Torres, after the injury problems he has endured in recent months, playing 90 minutes twice in three days seemed to represent a feat of endurance, but as the clock ticked down, he steeled himself for one final push, a push that took him beyond the opposition defence ghd straighteners  and allowed him to beat Brad Friedel.

In doing so, he reminded Aston Villa and indeed Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City that his team still have designs on a top-four finish.

Much will be made of the historic context of Torres’s 50th league goal for Liverpool — a milestone he has reached in just 72 appearances, quicker than any player in the club’s illustrious history — but his progress towards that mark had become painful and anguished in recent weeks.

A groin injury, an ankle injury, a malaise hanging over his team — these are the factors that have clouded his and Liverpool’s season — but, as he wheeled away to celebrate with his team-mates  Mbt in front of the visiting supporters in the Doug Ellis Stand, it seemed that the first pale, green shoots of recovery might be evident.

Martin O’Neill, the Villa manager, looked upset at the final whistle and carried his dark mood into the post-match press conference, after which he felt moved to apologise to one journalist for responding spikily to a fairly inoffensive question.

His disappointment was understandable, as he stated that Villa had enough chances to win the game and yet somehow ended up losing it, but it may have been compounded by the fact that, for all the eulogies his team have earned in recent weeks, they now lead Liverpool — demoralised, depleted crisis-club Liverpool — by just two points.

This being Liverpool, it could not be a perfect night — Glen Johnson left the ground on crutches, after a collision with James Milner late in the game, and will undergo a scan today to assess the extent of his knee injury — but Benítez looked happier than he has done for some time.

Not only was this a second consecutive Barclays Premier League victory but it was a second consecutive clean sheet, one that owed much to the performances of Jamie Carragher and Daniel Agger, who were impeccable for the most part, and Pepe Reina, who made an excellent save from Stewart Downing in the first half.

Torres had been on the periphery of the game when finally opportunity knocked in stoppage time as a result of a comedy of errors in the Villa rearguard. O’Neill preferred to call it “a collection of circumstances”, but, as Stephen Warnock and then Steve Sidwell, in trying to clear, succeeded only in helping Torres on his way, it seemed like the kind of goal that normally has managers ripping their hair out when they see it replayed.

For all that, Torres took his chance magnificently. “He is one of the best strikers in the world,” Benítez said afterwards ghd hair straighteners. “You can never say that one player is the best, because in other countries there are also great players, but I think he’s one of the best.

“He has had some problems with his ankle, as well as his groin, but he was working hard in training and he did well.”

Perhaps Villa paid the price for fatigue, having had barely 48 hours to recover since their 3-0 defeat by Arsenal on Sunday. O’Neill would point out that they had been the more dangerous team in the final 20 minutes and that they had the more clear-cut chances, but Benítez, in his matter-of-fact way, ascribed those opportunities to “set-pieces and one counter- attack”. They were both telling the truth, if not the whole truth.

In the absence of Ashley Young, who was suspended, Villa’s chances did come almost exclusively from set-pieces, with Downing forcing Reina into a fine save and John Carew missing with a free header from six yards. There was also a scare for Liverpool midway through the second half when Carragher slipped and Gabriel Agbonlahor got behind him, but the Villa forward’s left-foot shot lacked power.

Liverpool’s attacking play was short on the dynamism and the penetration with which they are synonymous at their best, but their football was controlled, with Alberto Aquilani quietly making his presence felt on only his second Premier League start and Gerrard, while not close to his best, looking fitter and happier than he had during the disappointing 2-0 defeat by Portsmouth ten days earlier.

Chances were scarce, with Friedel saving from Yossi Benayoun and Gerrard, but, the odd scare at dead-ball situations aside, it was one of their more convincing displays of the season.

Had the match ended goalless, Benítez would have bemoaned Lee Probert’s failure to award Liverpool a penalty Mbt sale in the 37th minute, when Richard Dunne clattered into Dirk Kuyt. The Liverpool forward did not have the ball under control, but this should not have been a consideration for the referee. Benítez was entitled to look aggrieved as the half-time whistle blew.

Afterwards, the Liverpool manager looked rather happier, but he, like O’Neill, showed the odd sign of tetchiness. In particular he seemed determined to challenge the largely sceptical reaction to his much-publicised “guarantee” that his team will qualify for the Champions League.

It was, he said, a reflection of positive thinking, not arrogance. There has been no place for either at Anfield in recent months, but finally, this morning, Torres and Liverpool might be feeling better about themselves.

David Beckham always said that he Mbts  never wanted to leave Manchester United and yesterday the Champions League draw gave him the chance to make an emotional return to Old Trafford for the first time since he was effectively booted out by Sir Alex Ferguson more than six years ago.

The England midfield player will join AC Milan on loan for a second time from the Los Angeles Galaxy in nine days’ time, but while the move was intended primarily to maintain his form and fitness before the World Cup finals in South Africa, it will hold an extra significance after the Serie A club were paired with his former team in the first knockout round.

Yesterday’s draw may not have been what either team wanted — or Ferguson, whose dim view of the fanfare that surrounds Beckham is well known and arguably the main reason he sold him to Real Madrid in July 2003 — but it is a dream pairing as far as the player is concerned.

Beckham uttered an incredulous expletive when informed of the news in the United States but was said by his representatives to be “delighted”. The first leg will take place at San Siro on February 16, with the second leg at Old Trafford on March 10.

Beckham was given a standing ovation Mbt.com when he addressed the Old Trafford crowd at a friendly match between United and a Europe XI in March 2007, but he has not played against his former club since his controversial exit.

He always hoped that he would get the chance to do so with Real, but during his four seasons at the Bernabéu, United were never drawn against the Spanish club and when he signed for the Galaxy, it seemed that the dream was unlikely to be realised.

Beckham’s days at Old Trafford were numbered the moment Ferguson kicked a boot that struck him above the eye, causing a cut that required stitches, after the United manager reacted furiously in the dressing room to his team’s 2-0 FA Cup fifth-round defeat by Arsenal. Four-and-a-half months later, Beckham was goneShoes Mbt.

Ferguson has never discussed the reasons for Beckham’s departure, but speaking in Glasgow two years ago, he claimed things started to go awry after the player married Victoria Beckham in July 1999, shortly after United won the treble. “He was never a problem until he got married,” the United manager said. “He used to go into work with the academy coaches at night-time, he was a fantastic young lad.

“Getting married into that entertainment scene was a difficult thing. From that moment, his life was never going to be the same. He is such a big celebrity, football is only a small part.”

Beckham, though, has never hidden his admiration for Ferguson, regularly referring to the Scot as the greatest manager of all time.

Patrice Evra, the United left back who may be tasked with marking Beckham, said that the club would roll out the welcome mat but that such pleasantries would not extend to the pitch. “He did a lot of great things for Manchester United and I want to say to him, ‘Welcome home’, Mbt shoes but I hope he plays badly and I intend to make sure he doesn’t do very well,” Evra said.

United were beaten by Milan in the Champions League semi-finals three seasons ago, winning the first leg at Old Trafford 3-2 before being outclassed 3-0 at San Siro. They have reached the past two finals, although Ferguson claimed yesterday that his players learnt more in losing to Barcelona in Rome in May than they did by beating Chelsea on penalties in Moscow 12 months earlier.

“Winning was great in Moscow, but in some ways losing the final was even better for us in terms of realising what a big occasion it is, because you’re not part of the celebrations,” he said.

“We’ve come up against AC Milan many times in the quarter and semi-finals, so it’ll be a fantastic setting for two great clubs and we’re very much looking forward to it.”

Ferguson will hope his team’s injury problems have relented by then. Nani joined the wounded list yesterday, the winger facing a fortnight on the sidelines with ankle injury Mbt shoes sale.

There was some better news with Ryan Giggs signing a new contract that will tie him to the club until the end of next season.