Saturday 12 January 2008 15:00 FA Barclays Premier League
"Middlesbrough"	1 - 1	"Liverpool"
	(1-0)
GOAL
Boateng 26		Torres 71
1  Mark Schwarzer  40  Jonathan Grounds  14  Robert Huth  31  David Wheater   2  Luke Young   7  George Boateng (c)  19 Stewart Downing   4  Gary O'Neil  10  Fabio Rochemback  11  Jeremie Aliadiere  17  Sanli Tuncay  Subs:  21  Ross Turnbull   5  Chris Riggott  28  Adam Johnson  18  Dong Gook Lee  36  Ben Hutchinson		25  Jose Reina  17  Alvaro Arbeloa   3  Steve Finnan   4  Sami Hyypia   6  John Arne Riise  23  Jamie Carragher  11  Yossi Benayoun   8  Steven Gerrard (c)  20  Javier Mascherano   9  Fernando Torres  10  Andriy Voronin  Subs:  30  Charles Itandje   5  Daniel Agger  14  Xabi Alonso  19  Ryan Babel  18  Dirk Kuyt
SUBSTITUTIONS
Aliadiere (Hutchinson 72)		Arbeloa (Babel 46)  Benayoun (Alonso 59)  Voronin (Kuyt 75)
OFFICIALS & BOOKINGS
Referee: Andre Marriner
Booked: Huth 50		Booked: Alonso 79
VENUE		MANAGERS
Riverside (capacity 35,049) Attendance: 33,035		Gareth Southgate (M) Rafael Benitez (Liverpool)

  Price: J

  MIDDLESBROUGH 1-1 REDS: THE REPORT

  A fantastic second half equalizer from Fernando Torres has earned Liverpool a point at the Riverside Stadium after they had trailed to a first half goal from Middlesbrough captain George Boateng.

  Torres 17th goal of the season came just in the nick of time for the Reds and what a goal it was. Liverpool had trailed since the 26th minute of the first half when Boateng struck, but Torres scored a priceless equalizer, thundering the ball in off the post from 25 yards.

  The Reds did come close to taking all three points when Gerrard's shot brought a good save from Schwarzer and then Hyypia's flicked header was saved by the Aussie stopper, but it wasn't to be and they now haven't won here in their last six visits.

  We had good news prior to kick off with the name of Reds skipper Steven Gerrard on the team sheet, who had recovered from the calf injury that had kept him out of the FA Cup clash with Luton. And there was the welcome sight of Daniel Agger on the substitute's bench after his long lay off with the dreaded metatarsal.

   When we got under way it was Liverpool who started the better and it took a good interception from Wheater to stop Benayoun's pass putting Torres through. But Middlesbrough were soon on the front foot and they would go in at the break 1-0 up after dominating for long periods.

  Liverpool came close in the 11th minute when Gerrard's 18 yard shot forced Schwarzer into a smart save, but that turned out to be their best moment of half. It was Middlesbrough who looked more dangerous and they took the lead in the 26th minute through their captain George Boateng.

  The goal came when Downing found space on the right and crossed to the far post and the head of O'Neil, who headed the ball across the face of the goal to Aliadiere, and his header into the six yard box was scrambled home by Boateng.

  Losing a goal in any game is damaging, but Liverpool hadn't scored at the Riverside since 2002 and they now knew that if they didn't find one today, their title dreams would suffer a crushing blow.

  The Liverpool team was out early for the second half and Rafa signaled their intent when he replaced Arbeloa for Babel and moved Riise back into defence. And they might have got back into the game straight away had referee Marriner agreed with Voronin's claim that he was bundled over by Huth in the area.

  The Reds were playing with more urgency and with Babel finding space on the left; they were carrying a greater threat. And Babel had Boro keeper Schwarzer scrambling across his goal when he flashed a right footed shot just wide from the edge of the area.

  Liverpool had to go for it, but in doing that they would inevitably leave gaps and they were lucky not to go two behind in the 67th minute when Downing's shot came off the post with Reina beaten and O'Neil lacked the composure to convert the rebound, shooting over from 12 yards.

  It was a huge let off and the Reds weren't about to waste their good fortune because they scored a brilliant equalizer through Fernando Torres in their very next attack.

  We were beginning to wonder where a Liverpool equalizer would come from, but the answer should have been easy. Torres has made a nonsense of the notion that foreign players need a year to settle into the English game. He'd scored 16 goals already and he made it 17 here with a fantastic shot from 25 yards that flew past Schwarzer and went in off the post.

  It was game on, we had 20 minutes remaining and Rafa threw on Kuyt in an attempt to complete the turnaround. But it was his earlier substitution that looked most likely to bring a winner, Babel again giving Boro a nervous moment when he hit another shot narrowly wide.

  Liverpool got themselves on top as the game headed for a tense finale and they twice came close to turning one point into three, but Schwarzer was equal to first Gerrard's long range shot and then Hyypia's near post header.

  Teams

  Middlesbrough: Schwarzer, Grounds, Huth, Wheater, Young, Downing, Boateng (c), Rochemback, O'Neil, Aliadiere, Sanli. Subs - Hutchinson, Johnson, Lee, Riggott, Turnbull.

  Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Hyypia, Finnan, Riise, Gerrard (c), Mascherano, Benayoun, Torres, Voronin. Subs - Agger, Alonso, Babel, Itandje, Kuyt.

  Referee: A Marriner

  Conditions: Unavailable

  Attendance: Unavailable

  Liverpoolfc.tv Man-of-the-Match: Fernando Torres

  Breakdown

15:01 GMT : Match Starts
1 min : Middlesbrough get the game underway
1 min : Liverpool win the first free kick of the game on the left hand side
4 mins : Middlesbrough win the game's first corner after a poor back pass
5 mins : Young whips in a cross from the right which is too strong and Benayoun clears
10 mins : Reina is guilty of a few poor clearances but fortunately we haven't been made to pay
11 mins : Liverpool enjoy a lucky break of the ball to win a corner off Wheater
12 mins : The first save of the game is made by Scwarzer as he dives to his left to keep out a drive from Gerrard
14 mins : Downing's free kick strikes Mascherano leaving the Liverpool midfielder needing treatment on the field
19 mins : Wheater's header is well turned over by Reina but the linesman's flag is up anyway for offside
26 mins : GOAL! George Boateng: Boateng opens the scoring from close range after Liverpool fail to deal with a high ball into the box
31 mins : The Reds work a free kick into the path of Finnan who sees his shot deflected into the arms of the keeper
37 mins : Benayoun sees a close range volley saved before the flag goes up for offside
42 mins : Riise tries an ambitious effort from distance which flies well wide
15:48 GMT : Half Time Reached

16:03 GMT : Second Half Begins
46 mins : Substitution: Ryan Babel for Alvaro Arbeloa:
46 mins : Liverpool get the second period underway
47 mins : Torres clips a ball into the box which Schwarzer gathers under pressure
49 mins : First Booking: Robert Huth:
51 mins : Downing whips in a ball from the left which is cleared and is then caught offside seconds later
53 mins : Aliadiere beats Reina to the ball down the left but there's no-one on the box to capitalise on the cross. Escape for Liverpool
57 mins : Liverpool win a corner after a good run from Gerrard. Babel blasts the ball wide from the resulting chance
59 mins : Substitution: Xabi Alonso for Yossi Benayoun:
65 mins : Babel has space down the left but his cross is poor and the chance is gone
66 mins : Downing almost doubles the lead as he drives a shot against the far post
72 mins : GOAL! Fernando Torres: Torres levels the scores with a stunning long range shot into the top corner
74 mins : Substitution: Ben Hutchinson for Jeremie Aliadiere:
75 mins : Substitution: Dirk Kuyt for Andriy Voronin:
76 mins : Babel charges down the middle and blasts a low shot which just misses the far post. Great effort and so close
79 mins : First Booking: Xabi Alonso:
87 mins : Gerrard tests the keeper with a long range drive which is turned over for a corner. Chance of a winner?
88 mins : No. The corner is poor and Middlesbrough can clear
90 mins : Hyypia's header from Gerrard's corner is well saved
16:52 GMT : Match Over

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