ON a day on which they reflected on the past, Liverpool underlined the promise of the immediate future.

With the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster being marked on Wednesday, Rafael Benitez’s side paid their respects and then gave a performance to reinforce the belief they can win their first title for 19 years.

An emotionally-charged afternoon was given the fitting tribute of an emphatic Liverpool victory against Blackburn Rovers and the memory of one of the goals of the season from Fernando Torres.

It was a time to remember those who will never be forgotten. Before the kick-off at Anfield, Blackburn’s former Liverpool player Stephen Warnock carried a wreath on to the pitch and laid it in front of the Kop.

An impeccably-observed minute’s silence followed, after which it was the noise from the impassioned home support that best reflected the feelings of those present.

The defiant, urging chants of “Justice for the 96” were heard throughout the encounter, a message that made way shortly before the final whistle for “We’re Gonna Win The League”.

There is, however, one song that has been conspicuous by its absence from the stands for lengthy periods of this season.

The Torres “bounce” returned to the Kop on Saturday after the Spaniard’s first-half brace ensured the perfect response to Liverpool’s Champions League hopes having being dealt a major blow by the defeat to Chelsea just three days earlier.

That it was only the second home Premier League game this season in which Torres has scored makes it impossible not to hypothesise where Benitez’s side would be in the Premier League standings had the striker been fully fit for more of the campaign.

Torres has started only 15 of Liverpool’s 32 league games, coming on as substitute in four others, but has now scored 11 goals in that time.

Certainly, any team would miss the spectacular marksmanship that was the highlight of a surprisingly comfortable victory over an insipid Blackburn Rovers.