Fernando Torres wrote another piece of history for himself with his 32nd goal of a stunning first season in English football in a 1-0 victory over Manchester City.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo has stood between Torres and the PFA and Writers' Footballer of the Year awards this week, and yet another fine strike at Anfield underlined why.
The Spaniard has now scored in eight successive home league matches which equals Roger Hunt's club record. His 15th in his last 17 matches shows the remarkable consistency of the front-man.
The winner came in the 58th minute when he cruised past Richard Dunne to beat Joe Hart with an angled drive.
Liverpool's final home match of the campaign ended with a lap of honour, and Torres took much of the acclaim.
For Liverpool, this was just a game for pride with nothing else now to play for with their European exit.
more positive
But for City, the game had taken on a whole new dimension, as the fans took the opportunity to give their vocal to support to manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.
And their team responded with a confident display. City were quicker and sharper in the opening stages, Michael Johnson and Stephen Ireland impressing in midfield.
Liverpool had plenty of possession, but initially created nothing of substance, apart from a Babel header over.
Fernando Torres then saw an angled cross-shot skid just wide on the far post, while Steven Gerrard - from 30 yards out - had goalkeeper Joe Hart flying across his box.
Liverpool were now improving. And when Insua's pass inside to Gerrard found his captain 20 yards out, a swerving shot forced Hart into an excellent save to his left.
After the break, only a fine interception from Vedran Corluka stopped Gerrard taking advantage of a clever Torres set-up, while Kuyt headed the resulting corner just wide.
Liverpool were much more positive now and Torres got away on the left from a superb Gerrard pass, but guided his shot just wide of the far post.
standing ovation
City responded with a fine Elano free-kick from 20-yards that hit Jose Reina's near post.
But in the 58th minute, Torres got his customary goal. A poor Michael Ball clearance was headed back into the Spain international's path, and he took on and beat Dunne before he angled his finish across Hart and into the far corner.
That goal meant Torres equalled the all-time Liverpool record of scoring in eighth successive home league fixture. Roger Hunt, in Division Two in 1961-62, is the only other man to achieve the feat.
City then brought on ex-Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann, who was instrumental in their Champions League final victory in 2005, for Elano and the German received a standing ovation from the Anfield crowd.
Nery Castillo took over from Martin Petrov, with Liverpool replacing Babel with Benayoun.
Alonso and Andriy Voronin both got a late run-out in place of Lucas and Gerrard, but City made it clear this was not over when Benjani blasted in a 25-yard free-kick that Reina struggled to beat away.
City then sent on Javier Garrido for Darius Vassell. But Torres was looking for more, and having the beating for pace of Corluka and Dunne, he almost chipped Hart on the run.
