The Reds never played with their usual panache. When matched against a determined group which was fighting for survival, they lacked the quality and cutting edge that was necessary to win the game.
Maloney's first-half penalty shocked the Reds, and they didn't recover from it. Suarez's goal breathed new life into the contest, but Wigan improved in the minutes that followed. When the Uruguayan's second was disallowed, LFC lost its edge.
Caldwell's goal reflected Wigan's dominance of that part of the second half.
The only bright spot was Sterling's debut. He added a new dimension to the attack that the supporters at Anfield seemed to enjoy.
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92nd minute, 2-1 Wigan: The referee has added five minutes of injury time, so LFC will have its chances to level the score.
The latest will come from the free-kick that Sterling just won. It's 25 yards out, but LFC wasted it.
89th minute, 2-1 Wigan: Carroll heads Shelvey's diagonal pass down for Suarez.
The LFC goal scorer couldn't guide his shot on target.
86th minute, 2-1 Wigan: Sterling cut in from the right side and shot on goal. It hit Skrtel, who turned and shot wide.
84th minute, 2-1 Wigan: Raheem Sterling is set to make his LFC debut.
The 17-year-old becomes the third youngest player to ever play for LFC.
He replaces Kuyt.
83rd minute, 2-1 Wigan: The stage is set for the last 10 minutes of the game.
LFC is passing and probing in the Wigan half, but the visitors have packed 11 players behind the ball.
82nd minute, 2-1 Wigan: Di Santo's game is over. He's come off with Sammon taking his place.
76th minute, 2-1 Wigan: Skrtel and Di Santo are having words, and the referee seperates and speaks to both players.
There's been a running feud between them all afternoon.
73rd minute, 2-1 Wigan: Shelvey comes into the game for Downing.
Aside from the first half shot that went wide, Downing didn't make much of an impact. He played on the left and the right, but was unable to find his groove.
Shelvey has taken up a position in the middle.
72nd minute, 2-1 Wigan: The Anfield crowd is demanding a response to the goal, but it has not come.
Wigan is getting better and better as the clock ticks toward the 90th minute.
63rd minute, 2-1 Wigan: Caldwell, a defender, scores and puts Wigan ahead of LFC once again.
After a shot deflected off of Carragher, Caldwell reacted first. His cut-back beat a sliding Carroll, and he slotted it underneath Reina.
There were cries of offside, but the Wigan captain was always onside.
63rd minute, 1-1: The visitors have responded better than their hosts since the disallowed goal.
Their passing has improved, and they have dictated play in the last 10 minutes.
53rd minute, 1-1: LFC thought it had taken the lead, but Suarez's goal is disallowed.
Gerrard's free kick found Skrtel at the far post. He headed it down, and it bounced off the ground over Al-Habsi. Suarez was there to bundle it home, he was fouled Caldwell on the play.
After the goal was disallowed, Suarez was booked. It's not clear if it was for the foul or dissent.
51st minute, 1-1: Figueroa pulls Suarez back and is punished with a yellow card.
47th minute, 1-1: Suarez ties the game for LFC.
Suarez and Gerrard combined to create and finish the chance.
Suarez drifted deep to receive the ball, and played to Gerrard at the wide edge of the area. Gerrard played it right back to the darting Uruguayan who finished it off with ease.
46th minute, 1-0 Wigan: Carroll replaces Henderson at halftime.
Dalglish is looking to add some much-needed punch to the LFC attack.
Halftime, 1-0 Wigan: The Lactics have the lead at the half, and it's not entirely undeserved.
As always, LFC has more possession. But it has not managed to create scoring chances as often as it normally does.
The Reds need an injection of pace and belief in the second half. When they attack on the break they look dangerous, but Wigan spent most of the half trying to do the same thing.
45th minute (plus three), 1-0 Wigan: Suarez and Gerrard combine for what could be the first time in the game.
The Uruguayan sent Gerrard into the area with a deft pass, but Gerrard could not get the right angle on his shot to trouble Al-Habsi.
43rd minute, 1-0 Wigan: Di Santo is booked for a rash tackle on Skrtel. It's possible he was trying to get the Slovakian back for his earlier challenge on Moses. These things happen on the field of play.
42nd minute, 1-0 Wigan: Crusat has come into the game for the injured Moses.
40th minute, 1-0 Wigan: Suarez tries to restore parity all by himself.
He was dribbling 22 yards outside the area, slipped, got back to his feat and unleashed a shot.
It was a near-carbon copy of the one he scored last against Stoke, but Al-Habsi matched Suarez's effort with a spectacular, diving save.
37th minute, 1-0 Wigan: The goal seemed to stun LFC and the supporters at Anfield.
Wigan can claim a slight possession advantage since the penalty. It's rare for a visiting team to come to Anfield and see more of the ball than the Reds.
30th minute, 1-0 Wigan: Moses spent four minutes on the field receiving treatment, but there was the matter of the spot-kick.
Maloney slots the penalty past Reina.
26th minute, 0-0: Skrtel has given away a penalty.
Caldwell flicked a ball over the top into the area. Carragher attempted to head it clear, but it fell to Moses who was standing nearby.
Skrtel tried to kick it away, but kicked Moses in the face instead.
25th minute, 0-0: Downing has spent much of the game on the right side, but he switches to the left and nearly scores.
Suarez sent him in on goal with a chip over the top of the defense. The LFC winger hit a hard shot to the far post, but it went just wide.
22nd minute, 0-0: Wigan is showing a composure that it did not have when it played LFC to a scoreless draw in December.
Back then, the game was open and both teams — LFC in particular — created a number of scoring chances in the early goings.
This time around, the Lactics have allowed their opponents to pass the ball cleanly through the midfield. But they leave no space between the midfield and defensive lines. This has made it tough to create scoring chances.
19th minute, 0-0: The game hasn't yet come to life. It started at leisurely pace, and remains that way.
12th minute, 0-0: Moses shrugged off Enrique, ran into the LFC area and shot from close range. But Skrtel was there to block it.
It was the first time Wigan has threatened LFC going forward.
Sixth minute, 0-0: The Reds have taken the patient approach early on.
They are retaining possession and looking to find gaps in the Wigan defense. But the visitors are sitting deep, and keeping their shape well.
Second minute, 0-0: There's an early shout for a hand ball.
Henderson pushed the play into the right side area, and tried to cross. The ball struck Maloney's hand, but no penalty was given.
Pregame: With number of regulars battling injuries, Dalglish is giving a couple kids a chance to test themselves against Wigan.
Nathan Eccleston and Raheem Sterling, two of the shining lights of the LFC reserve team are in the team for the first time this season.
Jon Flanagan makes his second league start of the season, as Martin Kelly and Glen Johnson have not recovered in time from their injuries to play against Wigan.
10:30 a.m.: Here are the lineups:
Liverpool
Pepe Reina (25), goalkeeper
Jon Flanagan (38), right back
Martin Skrtel (37), center back
Jamie Carragher (23), center back
Jose Enrique (3), left back
Jay Spearing (20), midfielder
Steve Gerrard (8), midfielder
Stuart Downing (19), midfielder
Jordan Henderson (14), midfielder
Dirk Kuyt (18), forward
Luis Suarez (7), forward
Substitutes
Doni (32), goalkeeper
Sebastian Coates (16), defender
Nathan Eccleston (36), defender
Fabio Aurelio (6), defender
Jonjo Shelvey (33), midfielder
Raheem Sterling (31), forward
Andy Carroll (9), striker
Wigan Athletic
Ali Al-Habsi (26), goalkeeper
Antolin Alcaraz (3), right back
Gary Caldwell (5), center back
Emerson Boyce (17), center back
Maynor Figueroa (31), left back
James McArthur (16), midfielder
James McCarthy (4), midfielder
Jean Beausejour (22), midfielder
Shaun Maloney (10), midfielder
Victor Moses (11), forward
Franco Di Santo (9), striker
Substitutes
Chris Kirkland (1), goalkeeper
Ronnie Stam (23), defender
Hendry Thomas (6), midfielder
Ben Watson (8), midfielder
Jordi Gomez (14), midfielder
Albert Crusat (7), striker
Conor Sammon (18), striker
12:00 a.m. ET: Liverpool has arrived at the back end of its season. It faces Wigan Athletic in a Premier League game at Anfield in a game that both teams will approach as a "must-win" situation.
Last season, Wigan escaped relegation on the back of an improbable road win on the last day of the campaign. Once again, the 19th-placed Lactics face relegation, and need to start picking up points in order to retain their top-flight status. They have won just once in their last 14 league games, and found road games particularly tough. They have conceded 29 goals in 14 games on the road. Anfield will certainly test their resolve.
Liverpool has struggled to transfer its might in cup competitions to league play. It has lost four of its last five league games, and won just twice in its last ten. It sits in seventh place, trailing Newcastle by five points. Kenny Dalglish knows a revival must start at home. He wants LFC to cure itself of the ills that have been plaguing the team since August.
"We have to be patient, we can't get frustrated or agitated," he said. "We will have to work hard to get the ball back off them and, when we get it back, we have to punish them. Hopefully we will put away a lot of the chances we get."
The LFC boss is hoping Martin Kelly will be fit to play on Saturday. He limped off in the first half of Wednesday's game against QPR. Charlie Adam is a major doubt, after picking up a knee injury in the same game.
But the Reds will be strong going forward. Luis Suarez, Andy Carroll, Dirk Kuyt, Steve Gerrard, Stewart Downing and Maxi are all fit. Dalglish can depend on any one of them to create and finish chances against a struggling team like Wigan.
Join us at 11 a.m. for Wigan-LFC. We'll have all the action right here.
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