Liverpool's Jomjo Shelvey (L) challenges Fulham's Mousa Dembele during their English Premier League match at Anfield in Liverpool Wednesday. (Reuters) LONDON: Liverpool beat Fulham 1-0 Wednesday to hand Kenny Dalglish his first home victory since returning to Anfield for his second spell as manager. It took a scrappy 52nd minute own goal from John Pantsil to secure the three points and Liverpool's second consecutive Premier League win after the weekend victory over lowly Wolverhampton Wanderers. The win lifted Liverpool to seventh in the standings with 32 points. Pantsil sliced into his own net after a Fernando Torres shot deflected off the post into his path. Liverpool could have taken an early lead when a rejuvenated Torres latched onto a pass from Raul Meireles and clipped it into the net only to be pulled back by the linesman's flag. While Fulham keeper David Stockdale made fine saves to deny Meireles from eight yards and a long-range effort from Glen Johnson in a first half largely dominated by the Reds. But after taking the lead, Dalglish's side failed to press home their advantage and allowed the visitors to maintain a foothold in the game. Fulham pressed hard in the closing minutes and should have leveled when Moussa Dembele saw a shot from eight yards scrambled away by Reds keeper Pepe Reina. Birmingham to Cup final Craig Gardner struck the winner as Birmingham City set up a League Cup final against Arsenal after coming from behind to beat West Ham United 4-3 on aggregate Wednesday. With West Ham leading 2-1 after the first leg, the Londoners went further ahead thanks to a curling long-range strike from Carlton Cole in the first half before Birmingham turned things on their head after the break. Midfielder Lee Bowyer struck against his former club and Roger Johnson leveled the tie on aggregate to send it into extra time as Birmingham woke up from their lethargy following the introduction of lively Serbia striker Nikola Zigic. Gardner found the net with a right-footed shot low into the left corner in the 94th to give Birmingham the lead for the first time in the tie and they held on to win 3-1 on the night. Real, Barca on track Real Madrid and Barcelona are heading for a King's Cup showdown after the great rivals won their semifinal first legs Wednesday. Real won a controversial game 1-0 at holder Sevilla thanks to a goal from Karim Benzema while Lionel Messi struck twice as 2009 winner Barca thumped Almeria 5-0 at the Nou Camp. The wealthy pair have carried their domination of La Liga into the King's Cup and if they advance after next Wednesday's second legs, will meet in the final on April 20, a few days after they play each other in the league at Real's Bernabeu stadium. Inter, Milan in semis Champion Inter Milan beat Napoli on penalties in the Italian Cup quarterfinals Wednesday after drawing 0-0 after extra time while rivals AC Milan also went through. Ezequiel Lavezzi blasted over the only missed spot kick as Inter prevailed 5-4 on penalties and kept alive their dream of a second straight treble. Two goals by striker Alexandre Pato earlier downed Sampdoria 2-1 to seal Milan's place in the two-legged semifinal stage, where it will meet Palermo after the Sicilians overcame Parma on penalties Tuesday.
