• Johnson calls on players to face crisis together
• Liverpool lose Riera and Benayoun to injury
Glen Johnson concedes Liverpool are in “awful” form as they confront the end of their Premier League title dreams.
Johnson was man of the match as Liverpool struggled to a 2-2 draw with Birmingham yesterday, their equaliser a hotly debated penalty converted by Steven Gerrard after David Ngog was accused of diving.
The result means Liverpool have won only one of their last nine matches and now face further injury problems, with Albert Riera and Yossi Benayoun out for at least three weeks each with hamstring injuries sustained against the midlanders.
Rafael Benítez’s problems have also not been helped by Daniel Agger suffering a slight recurrence of his back problem. And, with Fernando Torres under a three-week intensive treatment programme on his groin injury, the chances of all four being available for Liverpool’s next match, at home to Manchester City, are remote.
There seems no end to Liverpool’s nightmare, with the Reds now trailing leaders Chelsea by 11 points, but Johnson believes he can see green shoots of a revival.
The England full-back said: “The record sounds awful and it is awful for a club like Liverpool. But things like this happen in football. You stick together and keep fighting.
“We have seen in the league that everyone can beat everyone; if someone had told you at the start of the season that we’d win one in nine, you’d have laughed your head off. We will just look to get as many points as we can as quickly as possible then have a look at the end of the season and see where we are.”
Johnson’s runs down the right are a real plus for Liverpool as they struggle to get their season back on track, the full-back having returned from calf and groin problems that kept him out of the defeat at Fulham and the Champions League draw in Lyon.
He said: “Unfortunately we have picked up a couple more injuries but the sooner we get the lads back together the better it will be for everyone. I am one of the worst when it comes to being injured. I can barely watch when that happens and all you want to do is help out.
“You just have to listen to your body. I have had a problem with my groin and torn my calf. It has been very frustrating but now I am looking to get going properly.”
On the draw with Birmingham, Johnson said: “We want to be winning these games and I felt we did more than enough to take three points but it just wasn’t meant to be. You could say we could have dealt with the first goal better but [Cameron] Jerome has hit the strike of his life for their second goal.
“We had chances, we dominated the game and you can see everyone was working for the cause. It’s just one of those times for us at the minute and we just need to keep working. As long as we keep showing the togetherness and passion that we did here, then I am sure we will come through with a smile on our face.”
Lucas Leiva also believes Liverpool’s performance against Birmingham was an improvement.
The Brazilian midfielder said: “We are asking ourselves why we aren’t winning matches but sometimes you don’t have the answer. We created lots of chances; we had all the possession and did almost everything you need to win a football match.
“We played with intensity and quality throughout the 90 minutes. We tried our best but the third goal just wouldn’t go in. All we can do is train hard, keep going and try and change the situation as soon as possible.
“We must stay positive. Maybe the international break will be good for us because we will get some players back from injury.”
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