Gerrard’s disputed penalty earns Liverpool draw

LIVERPOOL, England (AP)—Steven Gerrard tied the game with a disputed penalty Monday and Liverpool drew 2-2 with Birmingham to fall 11 points behind Premier League leader Chelsea.

Liverpool trailed 2-1 in the 71st minute at Anfield when striker David Ngog went down in the area after a challenge by Lee Carsley, although the Birmingham midfielder clearly made no contact and afterward accused the French striker of cheating.

“He went past me and I was nowhere near (him). It’s a joke,” Carsley said. “I didn’t touch him at all. When (the ref) sees that he will be really disappointed. I know for a fact that, if I went home knowing I’d done something like (Ngog did), I’d be embarrassed.

“We’re supposed to be teaching the kids and leading by example, and that’s just an embarrassing case of cheating.”

Gerrard, having come off the bench despite a lingering groin injury, scored from the spot to keep his team in seventh spot in a dismal season that also has Liverpool facing elimination from the group stage of the Champions League.

Liverpool has been beaten six times in its past nine matches in all competitions, drawing twice and winning only once.

“We can talk about the penalty, whether it was or not,” Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said. “Maybe it wasn’t a penalty, but I think we deserved to win because we had way too many opportunities.”

The Reds have 19 points, while Birmingham is 15th with 12 points after a seventh straight league game against Liverpool without losing. Chelsea has 30 points, five ahead of Arsenal and Manchester United. Tottenham has 22, Aston Villa 21 and Man City 20.

Ngog put Liverpool up 1-0 in the 13th, before Birmingham tied it on a free kick in the 26th. Cameron Jerome’s amazing strike in first-half stoppage time put Birmingham ahead.

The striker collected a headed clearance by teammate Scott Dann, shrugged off a challenge and fired a dipping 30-yard shot that flew past goalkeeper Pepe Reina and under the crossbar.

On the play that led to the penalty, Ngog burst into the area from the left and went down under a challenge from Carsley, although it appeared clear from TV replays that no contact had been made. Referee Peter Walton awarded the spot kick and Gerrard sent Hart the wrong way.

“This is a shame for the game. Why not stay on your feet?” Birmingham manager Alex McLeish said of Ngog’s fall. “Peter Walton’s a great referee but he’s got that one wrong. If we hadn’t lost the penalty, I felt we would have won it.”