Liverpool hosted Birmingham City on Monday, November 9, 2009 in the English Premier League. The Reds needed a victory after they’ve been struggling while Birmingham is in a fight against relegation. Here’s a recap of the match along with video highlights.
Liverpool draws with Birmingham City 2-2 – Video Highlights
Liverpool had a strong start but was inconsistent on Monday against Birmingham. The Reds came out playing inspired as they took a lead in the 13th minute. A pass from Riera to Ngog in the box was volleyed just under the crossbar to give Liverpool the 1-0 lead. At this point, it seemed that Liverpool would have an easy night but that would not be the case.
Birmingham City hung around and would equalize in the 26th minute with a header Cristian Benitez. It came off a set piece of was poor defending as Liverpool couldn’t clear it. Birmingham’s confidence was high after the goal and they would stun the Anfield crowd with one more goal before halftime. Cameron Jerome hit a magnificent shot from long range that would beat Pepe Reina and give his club the 2-1 lead. It was a great shot from Jerome and Liverpool would go into halftime down 1-2.
Steven Gerrard came on late in the 1st half after being out for several matches with an injury. The second half saw Liverpool with most of the possession and chances. They finally had Gerrard in the lineup (but missing Fernando Torres) but he didn’t seem 100% fit. The momentum was with Liverpool in the second half but Birmingham held strong defensively through the first 15 minutes of the second half.
Gerrard almost tied it up in the 63rd minute as he had a header from a Glen Johnson cross hit the outside of the post. The crowd started to really get into the math and Birmingham’s defense began to show signs of cracking. Finally in the 70th minute, Liverpool would get the breakthrough they needed as N’Gog earned a penalty. The replay show that N’Gog were never touched and actually went over the Birmingham defender. It was a dive by N’Gog and an unlucky break for Birmingham. However when looking at the play in regular time it looked like a penalty and the referee isn’t able to use replays.
Steven Gerrard would step up to take the penalty and easily converted with a kick to the right side while the goalkeeper guessed right. Liverpool were now getting chances quite often and easily holding possession in the final third. Despite numerous chances by Liverpool, the match was still 2-2 through 80 minutes. Liverpool continued to push forward and attack but it remained 2-2 heading into stoppage time.
The match would end at 2-2 and a very disappointing result for Liverpool. They had more than enough chances to score more goals but the absence of Fernando Torres was very noticeable. Birmingham will be happy with the draw as they need all the points they can get. Liverpool are all but out of the EPL title race as they are now 11 points back of Chelsea.
| SCORING SUMMARY | |
| Liverpool | Birmingham |
| David Ngog (13) | Cristian Benitez (26) |
| Steven Gerrard (pen 71) | Cameron Jerome (45) |
| MATCH STATS | ||
| Liverpool | Birmingham | |
| Shots (on Goal) | 35(7) | 5(2) |
| Fouls | 8 | 9 |
| Corner Kicks | 11 | 1 |
| Offsides | 2 | 3 |
| Time of Possession | 78% | 22% |
| Yellow Cards | 1 | 2 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 |
| Saves | 0 | 5 |
