Egyptian striker Amr Zaki scored two crucial goals for Wigan yet Liverpool managed to grab the three points.

Twice they trailed to Amr Zaki’s devastating marksmanship yet found the resolve and ultimately irresistible penetration to take all three points from a distraught Wigan.

Operating as a lone striker because of Heskey’s injury, Zaki, on loan from Zamalek, of Cairo, produced a single-handed virtuoso centre-forward display to threaten Liverpool’s ambition.

He mugged Daniel Agger, recalled in place of the injured Martin Skrtel, to score the first and demonstrated athletic brilliance to thunder the second.