Aqua's pride at Kop strike

Alberto Aquilani spoke of his pride after scoring his first Liverpool goal at the Kop end in a 4-1 win over Portsmouth.

The Italy international marked his first Barclays Premier League 90 minutes with a neatly-taken strike in front of the famous stand.

"I feel really good because I've scored my first goal after a really long time. I'm also really happy because of the result - we needed that," he said.

"The goal is even more special because I scored it in front of the Kop. I said when I arrived in Liverpool that I wanted to score in front of the Kop and that moment has arrived.

"I think I played well but I have to take it step by step. Today was a good day and now we look to the next game.

"Above all, the big thing was that we played well and won. We have to take things step by step now. We can only think about Sunday after Thursday.

"Can I do better? Everyone can do better. Fernando made things easy. He is a special player, you easily play with him and Stevie."

Liverpool are now focusing their attention on Thursday night's Europa League clash with Lille before Sunday's showdown at Old Trafford.

"We need to win a lot of games to get into the top four and this is the first," added Aquilani.

"It has been a difficult season for me because I have had a lot of injuries but now I feel fit and am right to play.

"I had chance against Portsmouth and I had to take it.

"Most of all, I am happy because we won. We won 4-1 and it was a really good performance; one that we really needed."

VIDEO: 4-1 in 90 seconds and analysis>>