Liverpool 1-2 Wigan
Roberto Martinez became the first manager in Wigan’s history to leave Anfield on the winning side.
Martinez guided his side to a hard fought 2-1 win at the home of the five-time European champions, as Shaun Maloney and Gary Caldwell scored the goals in a vital win for the Latics.
The win saw Wigan move level on points with QPR and just one point behind Bolton, who moved up to 17th after their 2-1 home win against fellow relegation contenders Blackburn.
Meanwhile Liverpool remain in seventh place and 13 points behind fourth place Tottenham after suffering their fifth defeat in their last six league games.
The Latics went into the game on the back of two 1-1 draws against Norwich and West Brom and Martinez had earlier stated that his side would need to beat one of the big teams if they wanted to remain in the Premier League.
Despite shading the possession and having a superior shots on target and corners stat, Liverpool again looked laboured and short of passion.
Martin Skrtel saw a header cleared off the line and Stewart Downing flashed a shot wide of the post early on but it was Wigan who took a first half lead.
Martin Skrtel was penalised for a high foot on Victor Moses in the penalty box and Scottish midfielder Maloney struck the ball low and hard into the bottom left corner to give the visitors the lead.
The goal was Maloney’s first for the club after making only his second start since joining from Celtic in the summer.
Liverpool finally decided to wake up and forced a string of saves from Wigan keeper Ali Al-Habsi.
Firstly he pushed aside a curling strike from Luis Suarez and then parried well after a Steven Gerrard shot was deflected on goal.
Kenny Dalglish decided it was time for a change and turned to Andy Carroll, replacing the ineffective Jordan Henderson at half-time and ultimately going for a more direct approach.
The Reds have won six of the last seven games in which Carroll has started but have lost six of the last nine when he has not been in the team.
But it was a good passing move that got Liverpool level immediately after the break as Skrtel and Suarez combined to set-up Gerrard, whose low pass into the box was expertly side footed into the bottom left corner by Suarez.
The Uruguayan netting his 12th of the season in what has been a difficult first full season for the striker in English football.
Suarez then had a goal ruled out for handballing the ball over the line, which ultimately saw him receive a yellow card from referee Lee Mason.
The decision appeared to dishearten the home side and it was Wigan who took a shock lead just after the hour mark.
After Liverpool failed to clear their lines, an ambitious shot from James McCarthy ricoched off Jamie Carragher and fell into the path of defender Caldwell who turned inside Carroll before shooting low underneath Pepe Reina.
Dalglish’s side failed to create many more clear-cut chances, with 17-year-old debutant Raheem Sterling the brightest attacking talent Liverpool had on offer in the final stages.
Wigan face Stoke at home next weekend in what could be a pivotal game for Martinez and his side, with their following three fixtures against Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.
Liverpool travel to Newcastle in an important game in the race for sixth place but more importantly for Dalglish and his side a game in which this current dip in form needs to be stopped.