A resilient Liverpool side overcame a battle-hardened Birmingham City to earn three points as they tried to climb back into the top six of the Premiership.
Birmingham had the first real chance of the match after a poor back pass from Sami Hyypia fell disastrously short. Christophe Dugarry collected it at the edge of the box but his first touch was too heavy and rolled through to Chris Kirkland.
The Reds were lucky not to go a goal down a few minutes later when an unmarked Mikael Forssell stormed into the area to meet a floated cross from Robbie Savage, but the City striker headed the ball straight into the hands of the home goalkeeper.
However, it was Birmingham who took the lead in the 33rd minute when Jamie Clapham expertly delivered a free-kick to the far post and Forssell sneaked in to whip it into the back of the net.
But the City fans' delight was short-lived and the home side won a penalty just two minutes later when Steven Gerrard picked out Florent Sinama-Pongolle and he spun in front of goal only for Matthew Upson to bring him down.
Referee Neale Barry pointed to the spot and captain Gerrard stepped up to drill it home.
The home side asserted their dominance in the second half and the level-headed Harry Kewell grabbed the lead in the 69th minute. Substitute John Arne Riise, with virtually his first touch of the game, weighted a delightful cross into the box and the Australian's diving header easily beat Ian Bennett.
This sparked a Liverpool resurgence and their unlikely hero was Emile Heskey, who gave them a two-goal buffer with twelve minutes to go.
The England striker picked up the ball in the box and cheekily tapped it up for himself and rocketed a scissor-kick into the back of the net to win the game.