Wigan Athletic 1-0 Liverpool

Wigan Athletic 1-0 Liverpool

Hugo Rodallega seriously dented Rafa Benitez's and Liverpool's Champions League hopes by condemning them to their ninth League defeat of the season with a close range volley as makeshift right back and Argentina captain Javier Mascherano could only stand and stare.

Roberto Martinez will be delighted as he saw his side pick up their first win in the league in 13 attempts which moved his side four points clear of the relegation zone to the delight of all but 4000 fans in the noisy D.W Stadium.

However it was Liverpool who threatened first as the returning Fernando Torres sliced a volley onto the post following a corner. It seemed like Liverpool were going to continue the game in their dominative way until Charles N'Zogbia started to exert his influence on the game. His pace and direct running was causing Insua all sorts of problems, the first of which came in the 13th minute as he turned his marker in the box before fizzing in a right footed cross which only evaded Marcelo Moreno by a whisker.

It was N'Zogbia again who shrugged off both Insua and Carragher to break into the box, only to see his pull back hacked away. However it was Wigan who were in the ascendancy, and it was the Frenchman, who will be cleared to play for England this week, who was at the heart of their good counter attacking football.

The pace of the game was furious as both sides were chaotically competing in midfield but neither side could find that elusive final ball, which was perhaps the reason why neither side had scored a goal in the Barclays Premiership in their last 3 games. However Wigan were coming closer as N'Zogbia whipped in a fierce left footed cross which Mascherano took off the head of Rodallega.

But Liverpool did not heed the warning as 30 seconds later the ball was in the back of the net after a sloppy pass from Dirk Kuyt gave Boyce the chance to deliver a right footed cross which found the unmarked Rodallega who volleyed past a helpless Reina into the Liverpool net, sending the Latics fans into dreamland.

After the break everyone expected a Liverpool onslaught as they attacked the end where their travelling fans were housed, but it never came as Wigan continued to carry a huge threat on the break with the movement of Moreno, N'Zogbia and Rodallega causing the back four of Liverpool lots of problems as Moreno saw a long range shot saved before heading over the bar from a corner.

Fernando Torres who had cut an increasingly isolated figure as the game went on,was becoming increasingly frustrated with Gary Caldwell in particular snuffing out any chances the Spaniard had. On one of the few occasions Liverpool did work the ball well, with Maxi Rodriguez and Insua linking up before Insua delivered a teasing cross into the box which Kuyt headed down for the unmarked Torres, only for him to spoon his volley wide of Chris Kirkland's in a chance you'd expect one of the world's greatest strikers to gobble up for fun.

Benitez and his team face Portsmouth next in a game that must be won in order for Liverpool to have any chance of finishing in those Champions League spots, but by passing up a glorious opportunity tonight, they have handed their rivals a game in hand to open up some breathing space between the Merseysiders and themselves.

Ratings

Wigan: Kirkland 6, Boyce 7, Caldwell 8, Bramble 7, Figueroa 7, Diame 7, McCarthy 7, N'Zogbia 9, Scharner 7, Rodallega 8, Moreno 7. Subs: Moses 6, Scotland 6, Thomas 6

Liverpool: Reina 7, Mascherano 7, Carragher 6, Kyrgiakos 6, Insua 6, Lucas 5, Gerrard 5, Maxi 5, Kuyt 4, Benayoun 6, Torres 4. Subs: Johnson 5, Aquilani 5, Babel 6.

Man Of the Match: Charles N'Zogbia

Wigan Athletic meet a Liverpool side who appear to be returning to their best after a shaky start to the season, at the D.W Stadium tonight.

Liverpool will be hoping for a win against a side they have never lost against and one who have only won one game in thirteen attempts. The Latics' free-fall has prompted fears of relegation which would end their 5 year tenure in the Barclays Premiership. Wigan's biggest problem is scoring goals as they have failed to hit the back of the net in their last three games, meanwhile the goals have not exactly been free flowing for Liverpool have failed to find the net in five of their last seven games. However Liverpool will be hoping Yossi Benayoun keeps up his fine form at the D.W Stadium having scored in each of his last 2 visits there. Meanwhile Dirk Kuyt who has scored 5 goals in his last 5 games against Wigan will be hoping to be on the score sheet again as he aims to reach double figures for this season.

Wigan fans will be hoping that Victor Moses can change their fortunes around as he looks set for his first start since his January move from cash-strapped Crystal Palace. Paul Scharner and Frenchman Charles N'Zogbia face late fitness tests but are also likely to come through.

Meanwhile Liverpool are without Fabio Aurelio who has been ruled out for three weeks with a thigh injury, and the Reds will also be sweating on the fitness of Daniel Agger who left the Stadium on crutches last Sunday following bruising a bone in his knee.

Wigan: 1 Kirkland, 17 Boyce, 5 Caldwell, 19 Bramble(C), 31 Figueroa, 27 Diame, 24 McCarthy, 14 N'Zogbia, 7 Scharner, 20 Rodallega, 18 Moreno

Liverpool: 25 Reina, 20 Mascherano, 23 Carragher, 16 Kyrgiakos, 22 Insua, 21 Lucas, 8 Gerrard(C), 17 Rodriguez, 18 Kuyt, 15 Benayoun, 9 Torres

Referee: Andre Marriner

Stoke City's young captain Ryan Shawcross will today be celebrating receiving his first senior England call up, having gotten the phone call from Fabio Capello to take part in England's mid-week game against African Cup of Nations winners Egypt. In contrast another promising youngster will be spending this International break in a hospital having undergone an emergency operation on his horribly fractured leg endured at the Britannia Stadium during Arsenal's courageous and battling 3-1 win.

Arsene Wenger was visibly livid that a similar injury had occurred to a member of his squad for the third time in four years having seen Abou Diaby and Eduardo suffer the same injury at Sunderland in 2006 and Birmingham in 2008. Whilst the challenge was more clumsy than malicious, Wenger ,who described the challenge and injury as "beyond words" is unlikely to share that view as he questioned "Is a three match ban enough?."

Whilst the usual excuses for Shawcross were made that "he isn't that type of player" and as human slingshot Rory Delap says that "he's not a lad that would go out and do that", he went in recklessly and needlessly into a tackle that Sky Sports deemed so bad to refuse to show the replay, and they were correct not to as Ramsey's leg dangled in two different directions as Shawcross left the field in tears. Regardless of whether Shawcross meant to injure Ramsey or not, he has brought about the old argument, that the only way to stop Arsenal is to kick Arsenal.

Ramsey, who has come through his operation on his fibula and tibia, both of which were broken in the collision, is remarkably said to be in good spirits according to his Wales manager John Toshack who will be without one of his star players for months to come.