Egyptian striker Mido scored a late penalty kick on his Wigan Athletic debut, to earn The Latics a 1-1 draw against Liverpool on Wednesday. Following his January move from Middlesbrough, Mido started the game alongside Egypt compatriot Amr Zaki in the Wigan attack. Argentine Javier Mascherano took Xavi Alonso's place in the Liverpool midfield. The visitors started brightly, and Fernando Torres was unlucky to see his header hit the post and go agonizingly wide from Steven Gerrard's early cross. Despite the Egyptian duo's efforts to uplift Wigan, The Reds kept control of the game, and Ryan Babel had a powerful effort from outside the box punched away by Mike Pollitt. Six minutes later, Yossi Benayoun gave Liverpool the lead. The Israeli international did well to round Pollitt before hitting the ball in the net from a very tight angle. The second half didn't witness any improvement from Wigan's side, as the Latics failed to produce any threat during the first 20 minutes. On 65 minutes Benayoun danced his way through the Wigan defence before his weak shot was parried by Pollitt.
Wigan manager Steve Bruce tried to resurrect his attack by bringing on Hugo Rodallega and Henri Camara, in place of Zaki and Taylor. The substitutions proved fruitful as Jason Koumas won Wigan a spot-kick, following a late tackle by Lucas Levia on 80 minutes. Mido stepped up confidently to send Giuseppe Reina the wrong way and score his first goal for Bruce's men. Wigan could have clinched a late win, but Rodallega's vicious injury time free-kick hit the Liverpool bar. Following the draw, Wigan remain seventh in the league table on 32 points, while Liverpool drop to third with 48, following Chelsea's win over Middlesbrough. Watch Benayoun's goal: Watch Mido's goal:
