Liverpool needed an 86th minute strike from Maxi Rodriguez to give them a 1-0 win over Bolton at the Reebok Stadium.
The Reds struggled to assert themselves throughout and Fernando Torres missed a good early chance to give his side the lead as he miskicked when through, while Steven Gerrard and Sotirios Krygiakos also should have done better when given a sight of goal.
Bolton had their own efforts as Stuart Holden and Matt Taylor went close, while they were unlucky not to have been awarded a penalty when Jamie Carragher appeared to block a cross with his arm when just inside the box.
Ultimately, though, Torres would have the final say as his backheeled ball found Maxi running into the box and the Argentine winger stabbed past Jussi Jaaskelainen to seal the points.
Earlier, Kevin Nolan turned in a captain's display with a hat-trick as Newcastle thrashed Sunderland 5-1 in the Tyne-Wear derby.
The midfielder put the home side ahead with a 26th-minute overhead kick and then doubled his tally from close range eight minutes later before Shola Ameobi added an injury-time penalty as the previously miserly Black Cats' defence was torn apart.
Sunderland's task was made harder by the dismissal of Titus Bramble soon after the break for a foul on Andy Carroll and, after an Ameobi rocket, Nolan bagged his third of the game to seal a famous win. A late Darren Bent consolation meant nothing.
Birmingham were on the wrong end of more penalty controversy as they earned a share of the spoils in the 0-0 West Midlands derby clash at Aston Villa.
Alex McLeish's side had been beaten by a controversial spot-kick in the corresponding fixture last season. This time Villa skipper Nigel Reo-Coker appeared to control the ball with his arm inside the box just before half-time - but the visitors' penalty appeals were rejected by referee Howard Webb.
Birmingham had the consolation of ending a run of six successive defeats against their local rivals. But this was a game lacking in quality and will not live long in the memory.
