David Ngog opened the scoring with a ninth minute header before El Nino sealed the points as the Reds secured a first home triumph since October 25.

Charles N'Zogbia did pull one back for the away side in injury-time but it came too late to affect the outcome. 

It means Rafael Benitez's men are now sixth in the table, three points behind Spurs and a further two off Villa in fourth.

The night may have ended with the joy of three points but it had been a celebratory theme throughout, with Anfield marking 50 years since Bill Shankly's first match in charge.

Players from the great Scot's era formed a guard of honour to welcome the current crop onto the pitch while the Kop paid its own unique tribute with a mosaic sporting the words 'Shanks Legend.'

It was all set up for Benitez's men to cap the night with a victory and the Spaniard lay down a statement of his intent by picking a 4-4-2 formation that saw Dirk Kuyt lead the line alongside Ngog - and not Torres as had been anticipated.

In-keeping with the feel-good factor off the field, the hosts made a purposeful start and came close inside three minutes when Daniel Agger surged into space before unleashing a rocket that flew a few yards wide of Chris Kirkland's goal.

Five minutes later and the Latics were left thanking their lucky stars as Kuyt, Ngog and Yossi Benayoun all saw efforts hacked to safety following an almighty goalmouth scramble.

The writing was on the wall for the visitors, even at this stage, and when Fabio Aurelio sent a searching cross into the area, Ngog rose ahead of Kirkland to glance the ball home, ensuring Liverpool scored for the 20^th successive home league game.

It was the youngster's sixth of the season and if that wasn't enough to justify his starting berth then his role in another sublime move on 16 minutes went some way to doing so.

The number 24 with a growing reputation broke down the right alongside Benayoun. Wigan managed to clear for a throw-in, but some quick-thinking from the Israeli sent Ngog rampaging towards the byline. The forward checked his run before crossing low to Kuyt who forced a superb reflex save out Kirkland with a powerful shot on the spin.

It was the best moment of the half for the former Reds keeper, who looked nervous throughout. Twice he missed crosses into the box, only for some heroic defending from Titus Bramble and Emmerson Boyce to deny first Kuyt and then Benayoun.

At this point there had been little evidence of Wigan as an attacking force but they finally tested Pepe Reina on 27 minutes when some inventive approach play by Hugo Rodallega ended with Jordi Gomes thundering a 22 yarder straight at our number 25.

The remainder of the first period was something of an anti-climax and it said much about the action in both penalty areas that the biggest round of applause from the crowd came when Torres began to warm up on 38 minutes.

The sight of El Nino must have spurred those in red into action as Benayoun almost doubled the lead on the stroke of half-time but he failed to connect with another pinpoint Aurelio delivery. There was even time for another chance but Ngog dragged just wide after the Brazilian's pass deflected into his path.

If those inside Anfield wondered if they would be made to pay for missed opportunities at the interval then the sight of members of Shankly's family and players from the 1965 and 1974 FA Cup winning teams taking to the field ensured there was a very positive mood as the second 45 got underway.

The Reds responded to it and after a couple of close calls Ngog cut the ball back for Kuyt whose shot on the run was instinctively tipped over the top by Kirkland.

Mascherano then fizzed a 30 yard piledriver into the Kop as Liverpool looked to mark their dominance with a second.

Wigan must have wondered how they were still in the match, but just when they thought it couldn't get any worse, Benitez opted to unleash Torres in place of Ngog just past the hour mark.

The Spaniard was eager to mark a century of appearances in red with a goal, but it was Agger who should have made it two when he completely missed his header with the goal at his mercy.

The home side could so easily have been out of sight by the 75th minute, but they hadn't made the most of their chances and were almost made to pay when Wigan broke forward.

A free-kick was floated into the Liverpool area and as Reina came to gather he appeared to be blocked. However, the referee allowed play to continue and Jason Scotland crashed the stray ball against the bar.

Suddenly there was an air of anxiety in L4 but before the visitors could take advantage, Torres did what he does best on 78 minutes.

The Spanish ace raced onto a through ball, rounded Kirkland, and although Bramble got a block on his shot, he had the presence of mind to take the rebound and side step his man before tapping home.

It was the perfect footnote to a night of landmarks at Anfield, and although N'Zogbia pulled one back in injury-time, the current Liverpool side held on to get their season back on track with three much-needed points.