Birmingham 2-1 Liverpool
Liverpool's chances of finishing in the top four suffered a setback on Sunday, as they were beaten by relegation contenders, Birmingham at St Andrews.
Michael Owen was droped from the starting line up with Baros instead getting the nod, while El Hadji Diouf was serving a one match ban which allowed Bruno Cheyrou a place in the side.
Liverpool started well, as they aimed to record a third consecutive away win in the league after wins against Southampton and West Ham.
After just five minutes, Liverpool had their first attempt at goal, with Jamie Carragher striking the ball just over the bar direct from a Riise corner.
Just a minute later Danny Murphy had the chance to score from a direct free kick for the second time against Birmingham this season, but curled a shot high over the bar from the edge of the area.
Murphy seemed to have an even better opportunity to score on 9 minutes, after a superbly worked counter attacking move which ended with a dangerous cross from Heskey which the Birmingham keeper failed to deal with, and as Murphy looked set to score into the unguarded goal, Steven Clemence made a crucial challenge to take the ball away fromt he feet of the Reds' midfielder.
Christophe Dugarry was the first Birmingham man to try his luck at goal, but was unable to keep the ball down from a difficult position.
A header by Cheyrou from a well delivered cross from the right by Carragher forced Niko Vaesen into his first save.
Despite Liverpool's early dominance though, it was Birmingham who took the lead, with just over 10 minutes to go in the first half, when Steven Clemence headed past Dudek from close range after a free kick by Robbie Savage was played into the area from close to the touchline on the left hand side of the pitch.
Danny Murphy almost gave Liverpool an instant equaliser, as Liverpool attacked straight from the kick off, but his final shot was from a narrow angle and the ball flew across the face of the goal and out for a goal kick.
After surviving that scare, Birmingham were able to regroup and made it difficult for Liverpool to break them down in the final minutes of the half, as the side in 16th place in the league went into half time leading 1-0.
Liverpool set out at the start of the second half looking for an equaliser, and could have been awarded an early penalty after Bruno Cheyrou was tripped in the area by Stan Lazaridis.
Liverpool rarely managed to get close to the Birmingham goal though, and Dietmar Hamann's 30 yard free kick after around 55 minutes was the first real shot on goal of the half, which was well saved by Vaesen, who also kept out a header from the edge of the area by Cheyrou.
Michael Owen made his entry after just over an hour's play, coming on for Jamie Carragher. But within 5 minutes, the home side where two goals up and Liverpool's task became even more difficult.
The second Birmingham goal came from a quick break down the left by Lazaridis, and with Liverpool's defence all over the place as the cross came in, Clinton Morrison helped himself to his third goal against Liverpool this season.
Michael Owen scored only his second Premiership goal since November to give the Reds a glimmer of hope with under 15 minutes to go, but Birmingham held on comfortably to their lead, and in the process dealt a huge blow to Liverpool's hopes of finishing in a Champions League place.
Liverpool have a very break from league football until March 8, with UEFA Cup action in midweek, and a Worthington Cup Final to play against Man United next weekend. But with the club sitting in 7th place in the league and tough away trips to Spurs and Man United in their next four league games, Gerard Houllier's men need to produce far better performances if they're to stand any chance of competing in Europe's top club competition next season.
