A late winner from Steven Gerrard handed Liverpool a 2-1 win over 10-man Queens Park Rangers at Anfield in the Premier League this afternoon.
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The visitors thought that they had made a strong start when Leroy Fer had the ball in the back of the net from a corner inside the opening minute, but the assistant referee ruled that the ball had gone behind as it was curled in.
QPR continued to threaten in the early stages, with Fer shaking off a challenge from Gerrard to get a shot away from just inside the area which Simon Mignolet kept out.
Liverpool started to see more of the ball after 15 minutes, with Joey Barton giving the ball away in midfield to leave Gerrard with a shot, while Rickie Lambert saw his effort saved by Robert Green moments later.
The hosts took the lead midway through the opening period when Lambert burst forward before cutting the ball back to an unmarked Philippe Coutinho, setting the Brazilian up to curl the ball into the top corner.
Liverpool also had a goal disallowed in the opening 45 minutes as Raheem Sterling turned the ball in from an offside position, after Henderson had chipped the ball forward for the winger.
Richard Dunne almost handed Brendan Rodgers's side a second just after the restart when he overhit a backpass to Green, but the keeper managed to volley it behind for a corner, from Dejan Lovren fired behind.
Henderson and Sterling linked up again a few minutes later as the Reds pushed for their second, but the latter was unable to lob it beyond the keeper.
The visitors started to threaten again when Adam Lallana gave the ball away in midfield, allowing Sandro to push towards the Liverpool goal before setting up Matty Phillips, but his finish was straight at Mignolet.
QPR's resurgence paid off with just over 15 minutes to go as Barton whipped a corner in towards Fer, leaving the Dutch international to volley the ball into the back of the net.
The home side were soon handed a chance to retake the lead when they were awarded a penalty when Martin Skrtel was brought down in the box, but Green correctly guessed where Gerrard was going to place his spot kick and made a comfortable save.
Chris Ramsey's side had to play the final 10 minutes a man short as Nedum Onuoha picked up a couple of bookings in the space of a few minutes.
Gerrard soon punished the 10-man visitors, making amends for his penalty miss as he rose highest to meet a Coutinho corner, heading the ball past Green to secure all three points for the home side.
The result leaves QPR six points off safety in 19th, while Liverpool remain fifth in the table.
Sian Cowper
