Steven Gerrard rescued a point from Liverpool with a controversial penalty against Birmingham City tonight at Anfield.
The Reds captain converted from 12 yards on 70 minutes after David Ngog had looked to have been fouled by Lee Carsley. However replays clearly showed that no contact was made and that the French striker had conned referee Peter Walton into awarding the spot kick.
To view ClickLiverpool's exclusive minute-by-minute coverage from the game see: http://www.clickliverpool.com/sport/liverpool-fc/126800-liverpool-birmingham-city.html
Rafael Benitez's side went into the game aiming to reduce the 12-point gap between themselves and league leaders Chelsea. After an injury-hit spell for his squad, the Spaniard welcomed back several key personnel with Glen Johnson, Martin Skrtel and Albert Riera all returning from injury. Gerrard started the game on the substitutes' bench as did Alberto Aquilani.
Ngog was the designated replacement for injured hit man Fernando Torres and the 20-year-old hit the ground running, linking up well with Yossi Benayoun in the early stages. The pair combined again after 10 minutes with Dirk Kuyt but Ngog could only fire the ball straight at on-loan Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart.
Two minutes later, however, the ball was in the back of the net after Hart had pulled off impressive saves from Ngog and Kuyt. Riera played an inviting ball across the face of the goal mouth to the Frenchman who rifled a volley into the roof of the Kop net.
However the lead lasted less than 15 minutes as Birmingham started to fight back. Blues striker Christian Benitez chalked up his first goal for the club after Liverpool's defence had failed to clear aerial threats from Scott Dann and Roger Johnson, allowing the Ecuadorian to power home a bullet header although replays suggest that there was a hint of offside to his effort.
Both sides had their fair share of chances with Javier Mascherano going agonisingly close, forcing Hart to punch a 30-yard effort over the bar whilst Ngog and Kuyt both had efforts cleared off the line, but it was Alex McLeish's side who would go into the break riding high.
Less than a minute after Gerrard had entered the field for the injured Riera, the Premiership newcomers struck in first half stoppage time. Cameron Jerome burst through the Liverpool half and unleashed a looping shot from the edge of the area that dropped into the net, out of the reach of Pepe Reina's fingertips.
The second half was one of frustration for the Anfield crowd who tried desperately to roar their team to an equalising goal and they were rewarded 14 minutes from the restart, albeit in controversial circumstances.
Ngog continued to cause trouble in the Birmingham defence and appeared to have been fouled by Carsley on 69 minutes. Television replays showed that the former Everton midfielder's legs made no contact with the Frenchman but Mr Walton still awarded the penalty to the Reds which Gerrard duly despatched to pull his side level.
Having already lost Riera to injury, Benitez was forced to face up to the reality of losing Benayoun and sent on Ryan Babel after the Israeli had been limping round for a good few minutes in some real discomfort.
Also coming on as Liverpool pressed for a winner was Aquilani who made his Anfield bow although he was fairly muted when he came on for Lucas seven minutes from time.
The result leaves Liverpool 11 points behind Chelsea and seemingly one step further away from ending their 20-year wait to deliver the championship back to Anfield.
Final score: Liverpool 2-2 Birmingham City
LIVERPOOL: Reina, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Insua, Kuyt, Mascherano, Lucas (Aquilani), Benayoun (Babel), Riera (Gerrard), Ngog. Subs not used: Cavalieri, Kyrgiakos, Spearing, Darby.
BIRMINGHAM CITY: Hart, Carr, Bowyer, Ridgewell, Larsson, Jerome, Christian Benitez (McSheffrey), Johnson, Dann, McFadden (Vignal), Tainio (Carsley). Subs not used: Taylor, Phillips, Espinoza, Queudrue.
Att: 42,560
Stats:-
Shots: Liverpool 25-5 Birmingham City
On Target: Liverpool 7-2 Birmingham City
Free kicks: Liverpool 7-9 Birmingham City
Corners: Liverpool 11-1 Birmingham City
Offsides: Liverpool 2-3 Birmingham City
Bookings: Liverpool 1-2 Birmingham City
ClickLiverpool Man of the Match: Glen Johnson
Chepkwony, Kenya around 9 months, 3 weeks ago