The Holland international took his tally to eight for the season, slotting home a twice taken penalty in injury-time after he had opened the scoring with a sixth minute drive.

It means the Reds move up into sixth place and are now just one point behind their opponents, who remain fourth.

The noise reverberating around Anfield prior to kick off illustrated just how eager the home support were to give the players a much-needed lift, while the huddle led by stand-in skipper Jamie Carragher sent out the message that the men in red were ready to stand up and be counted.

As anticipated, a lively opening was keenly contested by both sides, but it was the visitors who had the first sight of goal as Pepe Reina produced a superb double block to deny Niko Kranjkar and Jermaine Defoe.

It only served to increase the volume of the famous 12^th man and in true Liverpool style, the home team responded by taking the lead with their first real attempt of the match on six minutes.

Kuyt chested Reina's long kick into the path of Alberto Aquilani, who was challenged out of it on the edge of the area. The Spurs rearguard failed to clear their lines, allowing the Dutch forward to follow in and hit a low 20 yard drive into the bottom left-hand corner to send the Kop into raptures.

It was the perfect start and should have helped settle any nerves within L4, but it wasn't until the dying embers of the first 45 that Liverpool threatened again, with Sotirios Kyrgiakos and Martin Skrtel both firing over when presented with good openings.

Harry Redknapp's men had probed without truly threatening, although they could have snatched an undeserved equaliser when Luka Modric broke clear with seconds remaining, only for Reina to deny the Croatian playmaker with a magnificent one-handed stop.

For the football purist, this is arguably one of the most attractive fixtures on the Barclays Premier League calendar, but as referee Howard Webb blew for half-time it would have been best described as an 'enjoyable scrap'.

For Liverpool the style of the performance was not the priority though, and they began the second period looking for the comfort of a second goal.

However, it was the visitors who threatened first and they had the ball in the net inside the opening 60 seconds.

Kyrgiakos sold Reina short with a back pass, allowing Defoe to challenge the Reds stopper and steer the ball into an empty net. The England man reeled away in celebration, but his joy was cut short by the sight of the referee's assistant's flag.

Liverpool countered and were unlucky not to double their advantage when Albert Riera, making only his ninth start of the season, crashed a header against the bar after a good run and cross from Philipp Degen.

In such keenly poised encounters clear-cut chances are few and far between, but when Kuyt won possession on the halfway line on 65 minutes, it looked like the hosts would be in for number two.

The Holland international raced clear of the last man and played a superb pass into the path of Degen. The Swiss defender looked odds-on to score, but refused the opportunity to shoot and dragged his cut-back to Kuyt behind his teammate.

It was a massive let-off for Spurs and hugely frustrating for Benitez and co, who went even closer just minutes later when Degen flicked a left-wing free-kick to the far post, but Kuyt could only crash his volley over the top.

Riera then fizzed a 30 yarder just past the stanchion before being replaced by Maxi Rodriguez, who came on to make his home debut on 81 minutes.

Substitute David Ngog had the next chance, forcing a smart save out of Heurelho Gomes, while he should also have had an assist seconds later, but Kuyt blazed over from his nod down.

The Reds have made a nasty habit of conceding late goals this season, but they were the ones to strike at the death on this occasion ,when Kuyt finally added a second from the spot after Ngog was brought down in the area in stoppage time.