LIVERPOOL (AFP) - Fernando Torres became the first Liverpool striker since Robbie Fowler to hit 20 league goals in a season as Rafa Benitez's team overturned Marek Matejovsky's early opener to clinch a 2-1 win over Reading at Anfield on Saturday.

Torres, Liverpool's 26-million-pound record signing, strengthened the club's grip on fourth spot in the Premiership by heading in the winner early in the second-half to break the 20 league goal barrier -- the first Liverpool man to do so for 12 years.

And despite Reading's fifth minute opener, Liverpool rarely looked like dropping points against their relegation-threatened opponents once Javier Mascherano levelled the scores on 19 minutes.

Having eliminated Italian champions Inter Milan from the Champions League in midweek, Liverpool's reward in Friday's draw for the quarter-finals was a daunting double-header against English rivals Arsenal next month.

So the visit of Reading to Anfield was pretty much the calm before the storm, despite it being a game that Rafa Benitez's team simply had to win to remain ahead of Everton in the race for fourth spot in the Premiership.

Bigger matches lie ahead, but it is in games like these that Liverpool's season will be decided.

If they fail to secure a top four spot, their hopes of playing in the Champions League again next season rely on them winning this year's competition. That is a real possibility, but putting all of their eggs in that particular basket would be a risky strategy on Liverpool's part.

It certainly looked that way once Reading had stunned Anfield by taking the lead through Czech Republic international Matejovsky on five minutes.

Liverpool failed to spot the midfielder lurking on the edge of the penalty area as John Oster placed a free-kick on the left flank and he was left free to rifle an unstoppable right-foot strike in off the crossbar from 20 yards.

With Matejovsky impressing for Steve Coppell's team, Liverpool struggled to bounce back immediately and Xabi Alonso hit the crossbar before Steven Gerrard went close with a dipping volley on 17 minutes.

But Mascherano hauled the home side level two minutes later with a stunning strike, his first in English football, that gave Reading keeper Marcus Hahnemann no chance.

The Argentinian received the ball from Alonso 30 yards out and ghosted past Stephen Hunt and James Harper before unleashing a fierce right-foot shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Hahnemann performed heroics moments later, though, when he kept out Ryan Babel's powerful shot with a fine save.

Having drawn level, Liverpool raised their game and Xabi Alonso, restored to the team after missing the midweek trip to Milan for the birth of his son, went close with a dipping volley from 20 yards.

And Benitez's team grabbed the lead on 48 minutes when Torres made it 27 goals in 36 games in all competitions with a towering header from Gerrard's free-kick.

Torres had won the free-kick by going to ground following a tame challenge by Oster, but Reading went to sleep defensively and they allowed the former Atletico Madrid star to head in from six yards.

From that point on, it was all Liverpool and Gerrard went close to adding to the scoreline before Fabio Aurelio brought another fine save from Hahnemann with a curling left-foot effort.