The depression that shrouded Anfield after Michael Owen’s latest injury bulletin dispersed yesterday as Liverpool proved that the England forward is not their only world-class player. Steven Gerrard, playing with more freedom now that he has Dietmar Hamann back alongside him, and the captain’s armband upon his biceps, was the driving force behind a victory that takes his team back to within one point of fourth place. Gerrard underlined before the match the need to earn a ticket for the Champions League next season, not least to help convince Owen that he should remain at Anfield, and it was the England midfield player who equalised from a penalty against which Steve Bruce, the Birmingham City manager, railed.
Peter Lansley, The Times
Gerrard the driving force behind 'ugly' Liverpool
It may not have been perfect but this was definitely better. Liverpool awake this morning upwardly mobile, their flirtation with mid-table forgotten and pursuit of Champions League qualification revived. On Merseyside there is hope again. Instinct in these parts may still be to shirk from suggestions that to gain fourth place would be as good as it can possibly get this year but, for those reluctantly embracing reality, the prospects appear rosier from the relatively heady heights of sixth. Birmingham departed angrily, bemoaning a bizarre penalty decision that roused the home side from initial lethargy, but here was evidence that even Liverpool's luck may have turned.
Dominic Fifield, Guardian
Liverpool fail to convince
There are several aspects within Liverpool's team that are worryingly unsatisfactory. These cannot be wholly camouflaged by an overdue home victory, achieved courtesy of spectacular goals in the last quarter of an hour by Harry Kewell and Emile Heskey. Steve Bruce's functional, physical Birmingham side, playing above their natural station, threatened Liverpool with a fourth home defeat during the first hour but eventually were obliged to accept what they deserved.
David Miller, Telegraph
Gerrard provides impetus to awaken Liverpool challenge
In the alternative championship, the one conducted out of sight of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United, this was a hugely significant victory. If last season Liverpool failed to reach the Champions' League because of results in the North East, where they lost all three games, their greatest obstacle to a return to Europe's élite this term has been their form at Anfield, where until yesterday they had won just twice. The combination of what the Birmingham manager, Steve Bruce, described as "a very soft penalty" and two marvellously taken goals from Harry Kewell and Emile Heskey hauled Liverpool into the top six for the first time in two months. On Saturday they take on Newcastle, their chief rivals for the fourth Champions' League spot which, soberingly, is the only prize the Premiership can offer them. Had they lost, as seemed possible until a second-half revival orchestrated by Steven Gerrard, all the red half of Merseyside would have wanted for Christmas was Martin O'Neill.
Tim Rich, Independent