Source: Liverpool_Echo
Birmingham City 1, Liverpool FC 1: full time report
Liverpool's hopes of securing a Champions League spot are hanging by a slender thread after Birmingham defender Liam Ridgewell earned his side a share of the spoils at St. Andrew's.[LNB]Reds skipper Steven Gerrard put his side ahead a minute into the second half but Ridgewell levelled matters nine minutes later.[LNB]It means Rafael Benitez's side are four points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester City and have played a game more.[LNB]And the Spaniard is still searching for a first Barclays Premier League victory over Blues in eight attempts spanning his six seasons at Anfield.[LNB]Birmingham again showed the resilience which has been their trademark in preserving a seven-month unbeaten home record.[LNB]And the share of the spoils with Liverpool means they have drawn at St. Andrews with every one of the current top six this season.[LNB]Benitez made three changes from the side beaten at Benfica in the Europa League on Thursday with Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Yossi Benayoun and Maxi Rodriguez replacing Daniel Agger, Javier Mascherano and Ryan Babel respectively.[LNB]Blues boss Alex McLeish fielded an unchanged side as he kept faith with the players who had held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw.[LNB]The first half-chance fell to the in-form Fernando Torres after he was picked out by a pass from Maxi Rodriguez but his first touch was surprisingly poor and took him away from goal.[LNB]Gerrard was operating mainly in a deeper role but he ventured forward to find the overlapping Rodriguez in space only for his shot to be blocked by Roger Johnson.[LNB]Torres tried his luck from 30 yards out but his curler was high and wide of Hart's goal.[LNB]Then after 35 minutes Joe Hart produced a superb reflex save to prevent Rodriguez from giving the Reds the lead.
