On this day: Liverpool earn late draw at Birmingham City

Although Birmingham City were by then an established Premier League side under the management of Steve Bruce, many expected European champions Liverpool to claim all three points from their trip to St Andrew's on this day eight years ago.

However, from the first whistle it was apparent that Rafael Benitez's men were not at their best.

They were frustrated by the hosting Blues, who themselves struggled to carve out a chance of any note during the opening 45 minutes in the second city.

It was the introduction of Spanish attacker Luis Garcia on the hour mark that brought the game to life and within four minutes of his appearance, the Liverpool player had put his side in front. Steven Gerrard was the creator, poking through a pass which Garcia slotted beyond Maik Taylor.

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That prompted a positive response from Birmingham, and two goals within the space of three minutes saw them claim the lead, albeit with a huge slice of help from their visitors.

First Liverpool full-back Stephen Warnock headed into his own net following a communication breakdown with Pepe Reina, before the goalkeeper failed to keep hold of Emile Heskey's header, which in turn allowed Walter Pandiani to bundle in the rebound. Those were the first two goals that the Reds had conceded all season.

Liverpool pushed hard for an equaliser in the closing stages and their blushes were spared when Neil Kilkenny handled Jamie Carragher's goalbound effort on the line. The Australian midfielder was red-carded, while Djibril Cisse stepped up to convert the resultant penalty with 85 minutes played to ensure that the spoils would be shared.

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"We had good chances to win the game and in the end it is two points lost for us. We lost the advantage in the space of five minutes but after the penalty we had two or three real good chances," said Liverpool boss Benitez.

"To draw away from home is not the best result but it is not the worst. Last season we conceded a lot of goals away from home and this year the team is more consistent. We need to improve small details but then you always think that. We are certainly creating more chances than last season."

It would prove to be a campaign of contrasting fortunes for these two sides as Liverpool finished third, but Birmingham were relegated down to the Championship.

Birmingham: Taylor; Melchiot, Cunningham, Upson, Clapham; Pennant, Johnson, Kilkenny, Gray; Forssell (Pandiani), Heskey (Tebily)

Liverpool: Reina; Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Warnock; Pongolle (Luis Garcia), Alonso, Hamann (Riise), Gerrard, Zenden (Cisse); Crouch