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| Chelsea 0 - 0 Liverpool | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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CHELSEA
0-0 LFC: THE REPORT Liverpool have left Stamford Bridge with a rare point following an entertaining encounter full of spurned opportunities. Peter Crouch missed a hat-trick of chances during a first half the Reds totally dominated, while at the other end Pepe Reina had very little to do. A draw against a side defending a 75-game unbeaten run at home in the league cannot be sniffed at, though the manner of Liverpool's performance suggested more could and perhaps should have been gained. The Bridge witnessed a scrappy start full of awry crosses and handballs. For the visitors, Ryan Babel looked to have the beating of Juliano Belletti down the left, the full-back impeded by an early yellow card for one of said handballs. Sadly, Liverpool's progress was too often hampered by one of said awry crosses. It was 15 minutes before either goal came under threat when, after good work from Babel, Steve Finnan swung in an excellent cross to the head of Crouch. The big man headed just wide from the edge of the six-yard box. Minutes later the Reds were threatening again, Riise finding Crouch in the box. The England striker orchestrated a great one-two with Babel before shooting wide. Patrick Berger was the last Liverpool player to score a hat-trick against Chelsea, but Crouch could easily have matched that feat within 20 minutes. This time it was Gerrard who was the provider with a thunderous run down the right. Again the ball in was perfect but the number 15 headed too close to Petr Cech. Chelsea were offering little in the way of attacking threat, though Liverpool hearts were in mouths midway through the first half when Javier Mascherano - who only returned from international duty in LA on Friday - appeared to trip Joe Cole in the box. Thankfully, referee Mike Riley was quick to wave away home appeals. Back at the other end, Lucas had a decent effort deflected wide after another superb Gerrard cross was cleared. The chances continued to come. Gerrard set Dirk Kuyt down the right on 37 minutes, the Dutchman hitting a deep ball to Crouch who, with Babel waiting in the middle, chose the wrong option. Spurned opportunities have been a hallmark of 2008 so far, but it would be too easy to disregard the first half as a case of 'same old story'. Because Liverpool, at an arena where they've won just once since the inception of the Premier League, were playing well. Really well. Gerrard and Carragher were on top of everything, while the new breed of Martin Skrtel, Babel and Lucas looked, for this afternoon at least, very much like potential fulfilled. It appeared as if another rookie was to make his bow at the start of the second half when Skrtel fell awkwardly on his right hand. Spanish starlet Mikel San Jose - the only defensive option available to Rafa Benitez because of an injury to Sami Hyypia - was ordered to warm up but some good work from club doctor Mark Waller seemed to do the trick. Meanwhile, the second half was getting off to a furious start. These sides have met 17 times in four seasons, a vast majority of which could be summed up in one word: cagey. But today, with Messrs Grant and Benitez both without their top strikers, the shackles seemed to be off. Babel continued to run amok down the left, though Petr Cech was perhaps not tested enough. Benitez shuffled his pack with 20 minutes to go, Jermaine Pennant replacing the Dutchman. From there, both sides seemed to close ranks somewhat. Skrtel made a fantastic tackle to thwart Alex with a quarter of an hour to go, while minutes later Chelsea best chance fell to Michael Ballack. Fortunately the German's volley sailed wide of Reina's goal. Pennant - whose only Liverpool goal to date came against Chelsea last season - found himself in Crouch territory with six minutes remaining after a mean ball in from Kuyt. The result was predictable. The excellent John Arne Riise ensured the away fans went home with a few more grey hairs with a close-range header back to Reina as injury-time approached, but the deadlock wasn't to be broken. So, the Reds head back to Merseyside with a deserved draw which leaves them three points behind fourth-placed Everton. The gap could disappear with victory in the game in hand against West Ham, while Liverpool can also take heart from the fixture list, which has dished up three eminently winnable home games against Newcastle, West Ham and Middlesbrough over the coming weeks. The Toffees, meanwhile, could well come unstuck at the City of Manchester or Stadium of Light. Sandwiched in between is the visit to Goodison of the league's top away team, Portsmouth. Teams Chelsea: Cech, Cole, Carvalho, , Belletti, Ballack, Lampard (captain), Makelele, Cole, Wright-Phillips, Anelka. Subs - Cudicini, Haim, Pizarro, Malouda, Obi Mikel. Liverpool: Reina, Riise, Carragher, Skrtel, Finnan, Babel, Mascherano, Leiva, Gerrard (captain), Crouch, Kuyt. Subs - Kewell, Pennant, San Jose Dominguez, Benayoun, Itandje. Referee: Mike Riley Conditions: Mild Attendance: Unknown Liverpoolfc.tv Man-of-the-Match: Martin Skrtel Breakdown 16:02 GMT : Match Starts 1 min : Chelsea get the game underway 1 min : Anelka gets down the right but his cross is too strong and Liverpool have a throw-in 3 mins : First Booking: Juliano Belletti: Deliberate handball 6 mins : Skrtel does well to intercept Anelka's pass which was heading for the path of Cole. Good defending 9 mins : A trouble-free start for the Reds and a scrappy opening to the game 15 mins : Cole breaks away down the left but his low cross is blocked before it can cause danger 15 mins : Finnan's cross to the far post is met by the head of Crouch but he directs his effort wide of goal 17 mins : Crouch fires a left footed effort wide after clever play by Babel. Best chance of the game so far 20 mins : Gerrard crosses from the right and Crouch heads at Cech as Liverpool start to take control 24 mins : Cole goes down under the challenge from Mascherano but the ref waves away the penalty appeals 29 mins : Kuyt tries his luck with a right footed shot which is deflected behind for a corner. It comes to nothing as Lucas drags a shot wide 34 mins : Carvalho does well to get in the way of a Lucas shot and turn the ball away for a corner 37 mins : Great counter attack from the Reds as Kuyt finds Crouch at the far post but his header doesn't trouble Cech 41 mins : First Booking: Ryan Babel: 45 mins : One added minute to be played 16:48 GMT : Half Time Reached 17:03 GMT : Second Half Begins 46 mins : Liverpool get the second period underway 47 mins : Wright Phillips wins an early free kick after a foul by Riise 47 mins : Skrtel runs off for treatment after appearing to hurt his wrist after falling awkwardly 49 mins : Babel does well down the left but overruns the ball and Cech is able to clear 50 mins : Gerrard blasts a low free kick into the Chelsea wall from a good position 57 mins : Great spell of pressure from Liverpool who are dominating possession - but can we find a breakthrough? 60 mins : Babel cuts inside after isolating his full back and sees his shot deflected for a corner. More good play 62 mins : First Booking: John Arne Riise: 63 mins : Substitution: Florent Malouda for Shaun Wright-Phillips: 70 mins : Great ball by Lucas finds Babel but his cross low into the box is cleared 71 mins : Substitution: John Obi Mikel for Frank Lampard: 71 mins : Substitution: Jermaine Pennant for Ryan Babel: 76 mins : Reina loses the ball under pressure from Ballack but was being fouled by the German 77 mins : First Booking: Alex : 81 mins : Cole lifts the ball into Ballack's path and his volley just misses the far post. Real let off for us 84 mins : Kuyt crosses from the right and finds Pennant who glances a header wide 85 mins : Substitution: Claudio Pizarro for Joe Cole: 90 mins : Three extra minutes to be played 17:51 GMT : Match Over Copyright of Official Site Liverpool FC |
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