Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard came on as a substitute and scored a late hat trick on Thursday for a 3-1 win over Napoli and a good chance of progress in the Europa League.
Ezequiel Lavezzi put Napoli ahead in the 28th minute and Liverpool's poor performance prompted manager Roy Hodgson to introduce Gerrard at halftime.
Gerrard equalized in the 76th from a sliding challenge onto a short back pass, made it 2-1 with an 88th-minute penalty, and lifted the ball over the goalkeeper to complete the scoring with a minute left.
Victory gives Liverpool control of Group K and was the English club's third in a row for the first time in almost 14 months.
''We showed an awful lot of character and determination in the second half,'' Hodgson said. ''It took some Steven Gerrard magic, and courage and determination, which I thought epitomized our second-half performance.''
Watched by new owner John Henry, Liverpool fell behind when Edinson Cavani picked up a loose pass on the left and slipped a pass through to Lavezzi, who steered the ball under goalkeeper Pepe Reina.
Gerrard added impetus to his side and curled a free kick just wide from the edge of the penalty area before racing onto a weak back pass by former Liverpool defender Andrea Dossena. Gerrard's sliding challenge got there just ahead of goalkeeper Morgan de Sanctis and prodded the ball into the net.
Gerrard's next goal came after Salvatore Aronica tripped Glen Johnson for a penalty, and he completed his first hat trick in almost three years from a pass by Lucas Leiva.
