Liverpool cruised to a 3-0 victory over West Ham United at Anfield.
The returning Glen Johnson rewarded a powerful start by the Reds by blasting home a deserved opener on 18 minutes from Raul Meireles's corner.
Dirk Kuyt then made it two from the penalty spot after Danny Gabbidon had handled inside the box,
before Maxi Rodriguez's flicked header gave the hosts a commanding three-goal lead before half-time.
Liverpool's dominance continued deep into the second half,
and though they were unable to add to their tally, the result moves them up to ninth in the table and just three points behind fourth-placed Bolton Wanderers.
The Reds' midfield options had been depleted in the countdown to kick-off following injuries to Steven Gerrard and Jay Spearing,
while Lucas Leiva served a one-match ban following his red card at Stoke City last weekend.
It meant Christian Poulsen was restored to the starting XI for the first time in a league game since the home defeat to Blackpool on October 3,
with the Dane joining Meireles in the centre of midfield.
Meanwhile, on a landmark night for Jamie Carragher,
the centre-back skippered the side in the absence of Gerrard as he made 650th appearance for Liverpool.
Injury problems aside,
much of the pre-match chatter had centred on the Reds' determination to return to winning ways after seeing a six-match undefeated run ended by a 2-0 reversal at the Britannia Stadium last time out.
And in the build up,
Roy Hodgson's ranks had been bolstered by the availability of Fernando Torres, Martin Skrtel, Kuyt and Johnson.
The quartet had all been passed fit to play following injury concerns - and the latter almost made an immediate impression, seeing his surge and cross headed away by Herita Ilunga from under his own bar inside the opening minute.
It was certainly an effervescent start by the home side and seconds later, David Ngog brought a fingertip save out of Robert Green after outstripping Danny Gabbidon for pace before Maxi saw a stinging drive narrowly evade the frame of the goal.
Torres went closer still on the 10-minute mark after his half-volley bounced inches wide of the upright. Radoslav Kovac was then required to produce a heroic block for the Hammers to thwart a close-range strike by the Spaniard.
The pressure was counting to mount on the West Ham goal and it finally told on 18 minutes when Johnson netted against his former club after collecting Meireles's corner on his chest before dispatching a powerful shot under Green from 12 yards.
It was no more than Liverpool deserved after an authoritative opening in which the visitors had barely ventured beyond the half-way line - and the Reds duly doubled their lead on 27 minutes via the penalty spot.
Gabbidon handled as Torres attempted to breeze beyond him inside the box and Kuyt made no mistake with a cool finish from the resulting spot kick.
Despite their two-goal advantage,
there was no sign of the Reds' pressure letting up - but Gabbidon went some way to atoning for his earlier error by hooking Maxi's goal-bound effort off the line after Green had flapped at Meireles's free-kick.
In fact, it took until the 35th minute for Pepe Reina to be called into action when the Spaniard made a routine take from a tame Carlton Cole header.
But back came the hosts, who furthered their stronghold on the game three minutes later when Maxi's deft header steered ex-Hammer Paul Konchesky's cross beyond the despairing reach of Green to put Hodgson's contingent into a commanding lead heading into half-time.
Any hopes West Ham held of Liverpool taking their foot off the gas in the second half quickly evaporated as Torres, Ngog and Maxi all tried their luck in the minutes after the re-start.
Maxi went close to making it four on 68 minutes,
but his lofted effort dropped the wrong side of the post after he'd taken Ngog's pass on the run into the box.
Substitute Fabio Aurelio flashed a powerfully-struck effort over as the clock ticked down, with Liverpool able to see out the remainder of the contest in relative comfort.
