Suarez puts Wigan to the sword

Liverpool clinched their first win at Wigan since 2007 last night to keep their continental quest on the right track. An early goal from Stewart Downing was followed by an exquisite hat-trick from the irrepressible Luis Suarez as the Reds unexpectedly cruised to victory at one of their bogey grounds. The three points leave them in seventh, five points behind fifth placed Arsenal.

After being ineligible to play against Zenit St Petersburg, new signing Philippe Coutinho started and impressed throughout, providing assists for the first two goals. Unfortunately, though, Daniel Sturridge failed to even make the bench as he continues to struggle to shrug off a knock.

The visitors didn't need him, however, as they began brightly, scored early and remained firmly in control of the contest for the whole of the 90 minutes. Although Arouna Kone had a chance to open the scoring after only 30 seconds had been played, it was the Reds who struck first two minutes after the kick off.

Wigan failed to deal with Reina's long ball forward, which found Coutinho in space on the left. The Brazilian skillfully beat Boyce and then centred to Stewart Downing, who nodded home from yards out to net his first league goal away from Anfield for Liverpool. It was the perfect start to a potentially tricky tie for Rodgers' side.

The former Inter Milan playmaker was at it again on 18 minutes, sliding a magnificent through ball into the intelligent run of Suarez, who took a touch and then shot past Ali Ali Habsi to put Liverpool firmly in the driving seat.

Perfect pass- Coutinho sets Suarez in for the Reds' second

The relegation threatened Latics remained a threat but they came up against a seemingly unbeatable Pepe Reina, who displayed the type of form that made him one of Rafael Benitez's most successful Spanish imports. 

Soon after Suarez's strike, Reina dived acrobatically to stop Boyce's volley flying into the roof of his net. He then proceeded to thwart Di Santo and tip Beausejour's free kick over the bar before the interval to keep Liverpool's defensive sheet clean.

At the other end, Liverpool weren't carving out countless goalscoring chances, but, crucially, their finishing was clinical, which is a positive sign of improvement from previous seasons, when profligate finishing cost the Merseysiders' dear. 

A little bit of luck always comes in handy as well and, on the half hour mark, Suarez experienced some good fortune as his free kick found the back of the net via a deflection off Maloney's shoulder and the inside of the post.

Suarez scores his fifth free kick of the season

Liverpool were creating their own luck and deservedly went in at half time with three goals and three points all but in the bag. They put the outcome of the contest beyond doubt four minutes after the restart, Johnson marauding forward and then playing Suarez one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The Uruguyuan beat Al Habsi to seal his hat-trick and move to the top of the Premier League's goalscoring chart on 21 goals. 

Three and easy- Suarez celebrates scoring a hat-trick

With the match effectively over, little noteworthy action took place for the rest of the second half. The Reds were content with a four-goal victory while Roberto Martinez's men accepted their fate without putting up a fight. Meanwhile, the travelling Kop were in a jubilant mood, singing songs in honour of Hyypia, Dalglish, Rodgers, Gerrard, Enrique, Coutinho, Luis Garcia and, hilariously, Rafael Benitez.

In the dying moments substitute Jordan Henderson saw his header cleared off the line by McCarthy, but, with a phenomenal goal difference of +19- better than fourth placed Spurs- Liverpool won't be bothered about bagging four rather than five. They'll just be pleased with a thoroughly pleasing performance that sets them up perfectly for next weekend's clash with Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield.

While it's pleasing to beat a bogey team and maintain our formidable record against teams lower in the table, the real test of this squad's ability will come in the games against the big boys. If Suarez can help Liverpool put Spurs to the sword as well, then there's every reason to be optimistic about our conclusion to the 2012/2013 campaign.

YNWA