You'll Never Walk Alone

Liverpool went back to the top of the Premier League with a Robbie Keane-inspired 3-0 win over West Bromwich at Anfield.

Keane registered his first two league goals in a Liverpool shirt while Alvaro Arbeloa added a third in injury time to down the Baggies and send the Merseysiders three points clear of Chelsea, who play at Blackburn on Sunday.

Despite some encouraging early signs from West Brom, in the end it was a comfortable victory for Liverpool, whose manager Rafa Benitez was able to enjoy a double dose of good news.

Having seen his expensive summer signing break his duck in front of goal, Benitez was also able to welcome back striker Fernando Torres from injury as a second half substitute.

The Spaniard was deemed fit enough after a six-game absence with a hamstring problem to make a place on the bench, but it was his strike partner Keane who caught the eye and fired Liverpool to victory.

Prior to kick-off, the Irishman had failed to find the back of the net in a league game since his summer move from Tottenham but he soon drew a definite line under that statistic as he swooped twice in the first half to put Liverpool firmly in the driving seat.

His first came on 34 minutes, from a neat Steven Gerrard pass after the Liverpool skipper had spotted Keane's clever run in behind the Baggies defence. The £19 million man did the rest, running onto the ball and applying the finishing touch past Scott Carson.

Just nine minutes later Keane had doubled both his personal tally and his side's lead with another impeccable finish. This time it was Fabio Aurelio with the decisive pass as Liverpool countered quickly; played through on goal, Keane rounded Carson before slotting home into an empty net.

Arbeloa popped up in injury time to seal the points with a third, finding the top corner with a well-measured shot from just inside the penalty area.

The scoreline was probably a fair reflection of the 90 minutes but nevertheless West Brom had started brightly and Tony Mowbray's side were able to emerge from the encouter with credit.

The Baggies displayed no outward signs of nerves, as is often the case when teams visit Anfield, and played their usual attractive passing game during the opening exchanges.

But it was Liverpool who were able to carve open the better chances, Keane seeing a shot on the turn saved by Carson on 13 minutes before the former Liverpool goalkeeper denied Yossi Benayoun on the half hour mark.

After the break, Robert Koren did his best to get West Brom back into the game, the Slovenian midfielder bringing the otherwise underused Jose Reina into action with a crisp strike on 51 minutes.

Soon after Koren fired wide of the mark but a Chris Brunt free-kick into the side netting apart, the visitors rarely looked like getting a goal back.

Torres replaced Keane in the 72nd minute, with both players receiving healthy rounds of applause, and the fit-again striker nearly found the back of the net seven minutes later; only Carson denied him a goal on his comeback to action.

Arbeloa's late strike merely served to confirm Liverpool's authority on the game as the gauntlet was passed to Chelsea ahead of their trip at Lancashire.