Heroics from goalkeeper Pepe Reina denied Birmingham City victory over Liverpool in a goalless draw at St Andrew’s in Sunday’s only English Premier League game.
The result maintains Liverpool’s unspectacular start to the season under new manager Roy Hodgson, but they remain in the bottom half of the league with five points from four matches.
Birmingham sit just one point further ahead but move back into sixth place, and will feel that their first half performance might have deserved all three points.
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The home side put Liverpool under concerted pressure throughout the first-half and had two superb opportunities to score through striker Cameron Jerome.
The first came midway through the first-half when Reina produced a stunning save, diving to his right to keep out what looked like a certain goal from Jerome’s header.
Ten minutes later, Reina again blocked a sharp header from Jerome after an excellent cross from Sebastian Larsson.
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With Fernando Torres again appearing to struggle in his search for form and fitness, Liverpool posed little threat for most of the match.
Only a late burst of pressure, with Steven Gerrard becoming increasingly influential, threatened the hosts, but Liverpool were unable to carve out many clear goal-scoring opportunities.