• Kenny Dalglish at loss to explain collapse
• QPR haul themselves out of relegation zone
Mark Hughes proclaimed the beginning of a successful battle against relegation after his Queens Park Rangers team performed an extraordinary late comeback to beat Liverpool 3-2 and clamber out of the bottom three.
QPR were dominated for long periods and conceded two goals in the second half before stunning Kenny Dalglish's side with three strikes in the final 13 minutes, with the decisive goal coming from Jamie Mackie in stoppage time. It gave the club their first win in two months, took them two points clear of the relegation zone – albeit having played a game more – and infused them with fresh optimism.
"It could be a defining moment of the season," said Hughes. "We have to make sure that it is. It's huge in terms of what we take out of the game. We were not to be denied in this game and showed desire, determination, drive and all the qualities that you need to get out of the situation that we're in. We could look back at this match at the end of the season and say that was when it all started to change for us."
Hughes admitted that he feared his side were on course for another defeat when Liverpool went into a deserved two-goal lead thanks to goals from Sebastian Coátes and Dirk Kuyt. However, Shaun Derry cut the deficit with a goal in the 77th minute to give Rangers new belief before Djibril Cissé and Mackie completed the turnaround. "At 2-0 you expect a team of the quality of Liverpool to close the game out and you thought maybe it was beyond us but we got a goal back and the momentum built," said Hughes. "The fans sensed it and were fantastic and we basically just rode the wave."
Dalglish was at a loss to account for his side's sudden collapse. "I can't explain it," he said. "There are no answers but we have to find answers." He rejected the suggestion that his team switched off mentally once they established a two-goal lead, preferring to invoke the pluck and luck of the home team, who enjoyed a stark reversal of fortune since their last outing, when they lost at Bolton after the officials wrongly ruled that a Clint Hill shot had not crossed the line. "The players never got what they deserved," said the Liverpool manager. "It's not a lack of concentration, give QPR some credit.Maybe the luck they never got at Bolton, they got it here."
One QPR player whose joy may have been tempered was the captain Joey Barton, who was booed off when replaced by Mackie in the 62nd minute following an inconsequential performance. Hughes insisted the hostility from the home support would not faze Barton. "In fairness to Joey, he wasn't having the best of times but heis a big enough personality to always demand the ball and want to be involved. But it wasn't happening so I decided to take him off."
Barton conceded via Twitter that he had been "awful" but criticised the fans for booing.
"Worst I've ever played in my career," he wrote. "But we WON.......and that's the most important thing. Onwards and upwards.
"Disappointed with fans booing, were [sic] meant to be in it together. They won't break me, guaranteed. I've been through much worse.
"Enough of the negative **** anyway. What a ******* result, great spirit shown by the boys and loyal fans tonight. Not the bells that booed."
Barton later posted: "Form is temporary, class is permanent."