A SIMPLE beach ball has epitomised much of the misery for Liverpool’s tortured support this season. Yesterday, however, it helped bring the smiles back on the faces of everyone at Anfield.

As they watched their team comprehensively dismantle Sunderland in thrilling fashion, the home fans momentarily turned their attentions to the visiting dugout and regular nemesis Steve Bruce.

“He’s got a head like a beach ball” sang the Kop in unison, prompting an outbreak of laughter throughout the stadium that the Sunderland manager couldn’t help but join.

It was that kind of afternoon, the gloom and doom that has weighed heavy over Rafael Benitez’s side for much of the campaign lifting in the wake of an invigorating, sparkling attacking performance.

If defeat at Sunderland back in October was a deflating experience, then this resounding triumph will surely breathe fresh air into Liverpool’s desperate quest for Champions League qualification.

Indeed, the Wearsiders could have thrown on a hundred of the things yesterday and it still would have made no difference to the final outcome, such was the extent of the Anfield outfit’s dominance.

Yet delight and encouragement at his victory – an eighth in succession at home – will no doubt be tinged by a tangible sense of regret.

A futile an exercise it may be, but it is impossible not to speculate what might have been for Liverpool this season had Fernando Torres been available for more of the campaign.

His latest brace means the Spaniard has scored seven goals in his last four games and 20 for the season, a remarkable 18 of which have come in just 21 Premier League appearances. Both were a delight. The first, an individual run that ended with a 25-yard curler into the top corner, will rightly command the spotlight but his second was similarly rewarding, a composed, sumptuous finish over Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon that demonstrated his cool, clinical nature.