Liverpool 5 Birmingham City 0 ( English Premier League, 23 April 2011 )

Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt ( 2nd from left ) striking home the 2nd goal of the game for Liverpool





A Maxi Rodriguez hat-trick inspired Liverpool to their biggest win of the season and further prove, if anyone was still in doubt, that Kenny Dalglish is the man to lead the club forward.

The little Argentinian was not necessarily brilliant but just put himself in the right places to capitalise on some impressive team play by a side brimming with the confidence instilled by the 60-year-old Scot.

There were positives all over the field with Dirk Kuyt scoring his seventh goal in six league matches while even substitute Joe Cole, who has endured a disappointing maiden season, got among the goals with a late deflected effort.

Five goals and all this achieved without £35million record signing Andy Carroll, who was unavailable due to an injury sustained in last Sunday's draw at Arsenal which allowed Kuyt to move back up front.

Adaptability was the name of the game as the Reds adopted a midfield diamond formation to get the best out of Raul Meireles' attacking intent.

Crucial to making it work, however, were the superb Lucas Leiva at its base and Rodriguez and Jay Spearing.

Rodriguez is becoming something of a lucky charm for the side he joined in January 2010 as although his goals are few and far between - just seven in 49 matches - they have all coincided with victories.

He is more suited to the midfield set-up which Kenny Dalglish went with at the start but it also brought the best out of Spearing, who had a hand in the opening goal - although not as much as Foster in the seventh minute.

Kuyt's lay-off saw the 22-year-old midfielder fire in a swerving shot which the Birmingham goalkeeper spilled into the path of Rodriguez who made no mistake from close range for his first goal since December 3.

Birmingham briefly responded, without really threatening, before they were caught by a classic Liverpool counter-attack in the 23rd minute.

Jose Reina intentionally picked out Meireles just over the halfway line and he flicked on into the path of Luis Suarez who did well to hold off the challenge of Martin Jiranek.

Foster may have been at fault for the first but he saved well from the Uruguay international and again from Kuyt's follow-up but he could do nothing to prevent the Holland international getting up to slot home the rebound.

The England goalkeeper injured himself in the process and was replaced 10 minutes later by Colin Doyle, who watched one Kuyt header sail across goal and wide of the far post before gratefully clasping Suarez's shot to his chest just before the end of the half.

Almost unnoticed in all the pass-and-move mayhem Liverpool were creating was the performance of the Reds' teenage full-backs, 18-year-old John Flanagan on the right and Jack Robinson, a year younger.

The latter certainly did not look like a youngster making his first start after two substitute appearances 11 months apart when, in the opening minutes, he coolly dispossessed the far more experienced Alexander Hleb as Birmingham threatened an early attack having swept through the inside-left channel.

Having moved into a comfortable 2-0 lead Dalglish almost immediately reverted to more orthodox 4-4-2 formation to ensure Blues were afforded no way back.

Alex McLeish's side provided more of a challenge in the second half but were always chasing the game and their cause became a lost one in the 66th minute when Rodriguez scored his second.

Suarez was played onside by Carr, trailing slightly behind his defensive colleagues, and the forward raced onto Martin Skrtel's pass and crossed to the far post where Rodriguez side-footed home.

Rodriguez saved his best goal for last, collecting Suarez's 73rd-minute pass and shooting low at Doyle who half-saved his effort only for Meireles to force the ball back into the danger area for Rodriguez to convert.

There have not been many instances since his arrival when Suarez has been outshone and as if to remind people of his talents the Uruguay international produced an audacious behind-the-leg shot which would have really rubbed salt in Birmingham's wounds.

That honour was left to Cole who, within seconds of replacing Meireles, cut in from the right to hit a deflected shot past Doyle for the fifth.

While this result was a barometer of the confidence at Anfield it will have done little for spirits within the Birmingham camp, with the club still looking over their shoulders five points above the relegation zone.

Arsenal 1 Liverpool 1 ( English Premier League, 17 April 2011 )

Liverpool striker Andy Carroll ( in black ) pressuring Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny







Arsenal saw their Barclays Premier League title hopes all but extinguished after Dirk Kuyt secured a point for Liverpool with a last-gasp penalty just moments after Robin van Persie's own spot-kick had looked enough for victory.

The Gunners - now six point points behind leaders Manchester United having played the same number of games - had plenty of possession and hit the bar in the first half through Laurent Koscielny, but were unable to make their dominance count until deep into eight minutes of stoppage time when van Persie crashed home a spot-kick.

However, Liverpool - who had earlier seen captain Jamie Carragher carried off following a nasty clash of heads - snatched a point with the final kick of the match after Emmanuel Eboue had pushed Lucas Leiva.

While the match ended in high drama, before kick-off there was a minute's silence in memory of late Arsenal director Danny Fiszman, who passed away following a battle against cancer and also remembering the 96 Liverpool supporters who died 22 years ago this week in the Hillsborough tragedy.

The sale of Fiszman's holding in the Gunners' parent company led to American Stan Kroenke crossing the takeover threshold, but it remains to be seen whether the Denver-based entrepreneur will be able to complete his proposed £730millon buyout.

When the action got under way, Arsenal - unbeaten in 14 matches and yet to lose in 2011 - started well, with Abou Diaby glancing a header wide from Samir Nasri's curling free-kick.

Arsenal were careless in possession far too often, with Liverpool quick to capitalise on the break.

The hosts sparked into life, though, after 12 minutes when Theo Walcott stung Pepe Reina with a fierce 25-yard drive which the Reds keeper spilled and van Persie hooked the loose ball back across an open goal, which was headed behind.

From van Persie's right-wing corner, Laurent Koscielny got up above the Liverpool defence and in front of Reina to crash a header against the bar.

Liverpool were forced into a change on 21 minutes when full-back Fabio Aurelio limped off with a recurrence of his hamstring problem, replaced by 17-year-old Jack Robinson for a second senior appearance.

Luis Suarez's slip allowed van Persie and Cesc Fabregas to open up the Liverpool defence, but the Arsenal skipper drilled his 20-yard shot wide.

Liverpool were being pegged back, with Walcott firing a low ball in from the right which was booted behind.

It continued to be one-way traffic with Liverpool defending deep, but Arsenal could not find a telling pass in the final third.

In first-half stoppage time, Eboue's angled drive at the near post was deflected across the face of goal and away.

It was again a bright opening by Liverpool after the restart. Suarez created space for himself at the edge of the Arsenal penalty area, but dragged his shot wide.

There was a scare for the visitors when Andy Carroll went down after twisting his knee and ankle when challenging for a loose ball in the box. After some treatment, though, the £35million England man was back in the action.

Reds skipper Carragher then appeared to have been knocked unconscious after a clash of heads with John Flanagan, sparking more anxious scenes on the visitors bench as the medical staff from both teams attended.

The former England defender was eventually carried off on a stretcher, his neck in a brace and given oxygen. Sotirios Kyrgiakos came on as a substitute.

With 20 minutes left, Carroll was replaced by Jonjo Shelvey before Arsenal made a double change when Jack Wilshere and Walcott were replaced by Nicklas Bendtner and Andrey Arshavin, the Russian making his 100th appearance for the Gunners.

Wojciech Szczesny got down well to beat away an angled shot from Suarez as Liverpool looked to snatch all three points.

Reina made a decent block when van Persie was played into the left side of the Liverpool area, before at the other end, Suarez spooned his shot high and wide in space at the near post.

Because of the injury to Carragher, there were some eight minutes of stoppage time, and just when that seemed to be running out, Fabregas went tumbling over Jay Spearing's leg and this time, the referee pointed to the spot.

Van Persie stepped up to send Reina the wrong way and seemingly keep Arsenal in the title hunt.

However, there was more late drama after Alex Song tripped Lucas right on the edge of the area.

Suarez's free-kick went into the wall, but Eboue then pushed over Lucas to conceded another stoppage-time spot-kick which Kuyt dispatched.

It proved the last action of an amazing end to the game, which leaves Arsenal all but out of the title race and left a dejected Arsene Wenger confronting the officials - and opposite number Kenny Dalglish as they walked off.

Teams:

Arsenal Szczesny, Eboue, Koscielny, Djourou, Clichy, Diaby (Song 81), Wilshere (Bendtner 72), Walcott (Arshavin 72), Fabregas, Nasri, van Persie.

Subs Not Used: Lehmann, Squillaci, Gibbs, Chamakh.

Booked: Eboue, van Persie.

Goals: van Persie 90 pen.

Liverpool Reina, Flanagan, Carragher (Kyrgiakos 62), Skrtel, Aurelio (Robinson 21), Kuyt, Spearing, Lucas, Meireles, Suarez, Carroll (Shelvey 70).

Subs Not Used: Gulacsi, Cole, Maxi, Ngog.

Booked: Flanagan, Skrtel, Shelvey, Lucas.

Goals: Kuyt 90 pen.

Att: 60,029

Ref: Andre Marriner (W Midlands).

Liverpool 3 Manchester City 0 ( English Premier League, 11 April 2011 )

Manchester City winger Adam Johnson ( in blue ) trying to get past Liverpool leftback Fabio Aurelio








Andy Carroll repaid the first chunk of that massive £35million price tag as he scored two of the goals that helped Liverpool condemn Manchester City to their worst possible preparation for Saturday's FA Cup semi-final.

A disastrous evening for the Blues that put their top-four hopes in the balance was made worse as Carlos Tevez suffered a hamstring injury that seems certain to rule him out of the Wembley showdown with old club Manchester United.

None of this will bother Carroll.

Signed as the replacement for Fernando Torres, the 22-year-old has got his name on the scoresheet before the Spaniard has netted for his new club Chelsea.

In a superb all-round performance, he dominated City defender Vincent Kompany in a manner the Belgian has not experienced all season, lashed home a first in quite brilliant fashion after only 12 minutes and added another when Aleksandar Kolarov's header bounced off the Geordie and into the net.

Between those two, Dirk Kuyt also struck leaving City beaten, bruised and wondering what fate has in store for them against their neighbours at the weekend.

With a favourable run to the end of the season, the Blues must have felt as if a decent result on Merseyside would have allowed them to confidently look ahead to Champions League combat next season.

Not in their worst nightmares could they have imagined what was about to unfold.

With Torres in Manchester ahead of Chelsea's Champions League clash with United at Old Trafford and Edin Dzeko in Roberto Mancini's starting line-up, three players who cost a combined fee of £112million during the January transfer window were within a 35-mile radius.

That they had not scored a combined Premier League goal between them has been a subject of intense debate.

By half-time, Carroll had two.

The first was a beauty.

Luis Suarez had already seen a shot touched onto the post by Joe Hart when Raul Meireles let fly with a long-range shot that crashed into Kompany.

The ball ricocheted straight to Carroll, whose first-time effort was hit with far too much power for Hart to keep it out.

Anfield erupted. Yet it was only the start.

When Kompany got himself in the way of a Fabio Aurelio effort, he could only divert the ball across the area, straight into the path of Kuyt, who sent a precise finish into the bottom corner.

As a shellshocked City struggled to clear their heads, Liverpool struck again.

This time Meireles swept a cross to the far post after young full-back Dedryck Boyata had lost possession deep inside his own half.

Kolarov won the aerial duel with Carroll but it was a measure of City's evening that the Serb merely headed the ball against the man he was marking, from where it looped into the net.

For City boss Roberto Mancini, it must have felt like the sky had fallen in as, just for good measure, it started chucking it down too before half-time.

Yet potentially, the worst moment of all came in the minutes after Carroll's opener when Tevez pulled up with what he indicated was a hamstring injury.

The South American gave the signal for a pull as he made his way off the field. Mario Balotelli was immediately introduced. City's stunned fans could only hope it was a precautionary move. The reality seems certain to be rather more depressing.

Kuyt came agonisingly close to twisting the knife a little bit deeper when he flicked a header narrowly wide of the City goal at the start of the second period.

Given they were in the process of amassing 13 points against the current top four, it did beg the question why Liverpool have been performing quite so badly against the Premier League's lesser lights.

That was a reflective point though.

Mancini is the one who needs to find answers quickly as he enters the most important spell of his short Eastlands tenure.

James Milner, normally one of the most level-headed players, reacted with obvious anger when he was replaced by David Silva with less than an hour gone.

Not that there was any noticeable improvement from the Blues, with Balotelli producing a typically enigmatic display before suffering the ignominy of becoming a substituted substitute as Nigel de Jong was introduced.

Yaya Toure brought a decent save out of Pepe Reina with a 35-yard thunderbolt.

Carroll almost had the last word when he looped a header onto the roof of the net before departing to a standing ovation just before the end.

Teams

Liverpool Reina, Flanagan, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio, Kuyt,Lucas, Spearing, Meireles, Suarez, Carroll (Ngog 90).

Subs Not Used: Gulacsi, Cole, Maxi, Wilson, Shelvey, Robinson.

Booked: Aurelio.

Goals: Carroll 13, Kuyt 34, Carroll 35.

Man City Hart, Boyata, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov, Barry,Toure Yaya, Milner (Silva 59), Tevez (Balotelli 16),Adam Johnson, Dzeko, Balotelli (De Jong 83).

Subs Not Used: Taylor, Zabaleta, Wright-Phillips, McGivern.

Att: 44,776

Ref: Mark Halsey (Lancashire).

West Bromwich Albion 2 Liverpool 1 ( English Premier League, 2 April 2011 )

Liverpool atriker Luis Suarez ( in red ) being pressured by West Brom's Paul Scharner







Chris Brunt's second-half penalty double enabled West Brom to win the battle of Liverpool managers past and present at The Hawthorns.

Current Reds manager Kenny Dalglish saw Martin Skrtel head his side in front five minutes into the second half.

But his predecessor, Roy Hodgson, was indebted to Brunt for initially levelling matters from the spot and then scoring the 88th-minute winner.

Albion were worthy of their victory and are now unbeaten in five games under Hodgson.

They had the game's most potent attacker in Peter Odemwingie while Youssouf Mulumbu anchored the midfield effectively.

Luis Suarez again showed flashes of his quality for the Reds but Andy Carroll had a quiet game after scoring his first England goal in midweek against Ghana.

Liverpool were the first to settle and almost went ahead after two minutes.

Carroll won a header from a Raul Meireles corner and the ball fell to Dirk Kuyt whose close-range effort was blocked by Scott Carson.

Kuyt was first to react to the rebound and his shot clipped the top of the bar.

Carroll appealed in vain for a penalty after a challenge by Baggies central defender Jonas Olsson.

Liverpool suffered a setback after six minutes when Glen Johnson pulled up with a hamstring injury when trying to close down Brunt.

He was replaced by Sotirios Kyrgiakos who went into the middle of the back four with Daniel Agger replacing Johnson at left-back.

Kuyt dragged a low shot wide after Suarez had turned the ball into his path.

Brunt tried to catch Jose Reina out with a low 35-yard free-kick but the keeper was alert to the situation.

Liverpool received another injury blow after 25 minutes when Agger hobbled off with what appeared to be a knee setback to be replaced by Danny Wilson in a straight swap at left-back.

Paul Scharner became the first player to be yellow carded after 27 minutes for a foul on Jay Spearing.

Carroll followed him into Martin Atkinson's notebook late after a challenge on Steven Reid inside the Baggies box.

Reina was brought into meaningful action for the first time to cling on to a Reid header from Brunt's deep free-kick.

Wilson was yellow carded after bringing down Odemwingie two minutes before the interval.

Albion began the second half brightly and Reina parried away a well-struck drive from Cox.

But Liverpool broke the deadlock after 50 minutes through Skrtel's second goal of the season.

Carroll won a corner after his shot on the turn was tipped over by Carson at full stretch but he was well beaten by Skrtel's header from the resulting cross by Meireles after he had outjumped Scharner.

Carson then had to be alert to block a swerving shot from Kuyt after he had ran unopposed into the Albion box.

The home side tried to regroup and Reina went down to hold Brunt's left-footed shot.

Then after 62 minutes Brunt brought Albion level from the penalty spot.

Kyrgiakos was adjudged to have brought down the impressive Odemwingie inside the box and Brunt sent Reina the wrong way from the spot.

It was the third goal of the campaign for the Northern Ireland international.

Odemwingie was a constant menace to Liverpool and Reina did well to turn aside a fierce drive.

Hodgson made his first substitution after 74 minutes with Marc-Antoine Fortune replacing Cox.

Liverpool skipper Jamie Carragher made a crucial block on Odemwingie's powerful shot.

Then Odemwingie flashed a shot across the face of goal after being found in space by Fortune.

A minute late Brunt put the Baggies ahead with his second penalty of the game.

Odemwingie shook off the challenge of Kyrgiakos and then was brought by Reina.

Up stepped Brunt to hammer the spot-kick past Reina.

In injury-time Nicky Shorey headed off the line from Suarez.

Teams:

West Brom: Carson, Reid, Meite, Olsson, Shorey, Scharner, Mulumbu, Brunt, Cox (Fortune 74), Thomas (Jara 90), Odemwingie.

Subs Not Used: Myhill, Cech, Pablo, Vela, Zuiverloon.

Booked: Scharner, Thomas.

Goals: Brunt 62 pen, 88 pen.

Liverpool: Reina, Carragher, Skrtel, Agger (Wilson 24), Johnson (Kyrgiakos 8), Kuyt (Cole 87), Spearing, Lucas, Meireles, Carroll, Suarez.

Subs Not Used: Gulacsi, Maxi, Ngog, Poulsen.

Booked: Carroll, Wilson, Reina.

Goals: Skrtel 50.

Att: 26,196

Ref: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).