Reds Held At Home By Fulham

Which teams will be going in to the weekend smiling? Predict the results in Midweek 10 and you could have something to smile about too!

Liverpool were held to a disappointing 0-0 draw at Anfield as a well-organised Fulham team frustrated the home side that left the pitch to a chorus of boos at the final whistle.

Despite having nearly every goalscoring opportunity Rafa Benitez's men couldn't find the finishing touch in a game that should have taken them two points clear at the top of the table.

RAFAEL BENITEZ

It was the home side that should have opened the scoring inside the first five minutes when a clever ball from the outside of Fabio Aurelio's boot found Dirk Kuyt behind the Fulham back line but, after bringing the ball down, the Dutch winger lacked the composure to hit the target and dragged his shot wide.

With no Steven Gerrard in the side and Lucas Leiva partnering Javier Mascherano in the middle of the park, Liverpool lacked any creativity and it was the Fulham duo of Danny Murphy and Jimmy Bullard who looked to have the more quality around the centre circle.

A scrappy first 20 minutes suited Fulham and they should have done better from a trio of volleyed passes starting with Murphy to Simon Davies then on to Jimmy Bullard whose overhead ball dropped over the shoulder of Andy Johnson.

The striker scuffed his shot straight at Pepe Reina in the Reds goal, much to the pleasure of the home crowd.

Kop favourite Fernando Torres looked to have found his match fitness again and a jinking run at two Fulham defenders on 23 minutes looked to have created a good shooting chance on the edge of the box but a last-gasp tackle by John Paintsil prevented the Spaniard from pulling the trigger.

Liverpool had the Cottagers pinned back in their own half for most of the game but, despite creating a hatful of chances, they never looked like breaking the deadlock.

The best chance of the game fell to Robbie Keane just before the half-hour mark when a low driven ball into the box flicked off an unsuspecting Leiva and fell into the path of the former Spurs striker who was one-on-one with Mark Schwarzer.

Despite claims for offside, Keane still took a shot but his panic-looking effort was blasted straight at the keeper who spread himself well and ended up saving the ball with his face.

Fulham managed to get a rare scoring chance five minutes later when a powerful run from Bobby Zamora took him past three players before cutting the ball back to Bullard who unleashed a 20-yard effort but Reina was alert enough to push the ball over his bar.

With a very organised back-line Roy Hodgson's men stood strong to whatever Liverpool threw at them and Schwarzer was forced to save a low drive from Torres just before the break.

After the restart it was Liverpool again who created the first chance when a curling right-footed effort from Torres sailed just over the top corner.

With no-one else in the team seeming able to have a strike on goal it was the Spanish striker who tested Schwarzer again on 51 minutes after his pace out stripped both Paintsil and Murphy, but his effort was blasted straight at the shot-stopper who palmed away the danger.

Having been calling for Xabi Alonso to be brought on since midway through the first half, Benitez seemed to be giving the fans what they wanted but the home crowd's cheers were soon replaced with groans of despair when he took off Mascherano instead of the expected Leiva.

With 20 minutes to go Liverpool started throwing everything they had at the wall of white in front of them and Kuyt was the next to hold his head in his hands.

A driven shot from Albert Riera against the legs of Paintsil flew to Kuyt whose first-time effort was heading for the top corner before Schwarzer appeared to pluck the ball out of the air.

With speculative efforts from Keane, Leiva and Daniel Agger in the closing stages Liverpool should have had the game well and truly wrapped up but Fulham stood strong and thoroughly deserved a point.

After the stalemate, frustrated Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez said: "It was a bad day. We did not have enough energy and we did not pass the ball well enough.

"When we got back into the dressing-room we discovered that Chelsea had drawn and Arsenal had lost. Those results would have been good for us had we won this one. I would assume Chelsea feel the same way about our result and Arsenal's defeat.

"We had a situation when maybe five players were well below their best. The players who had been away with their countries looked tired.

"I know the crowd were calling for Xabi Alonso to come on but he had played 90 minutes for Spain and we needed fresh legs.

"When he did come on Fulham pressurised him straight away. I don't think one man makes that much difference in such circumstances. When so many other players are off-form you cannot expect one player to change things."

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson said: "We've eventually seen through a decent away performance. So often this season we've been 0-0 with ten minutes to go and then conceded a goal.

"That has sent us home deflated and frustrated. This time we produced a very good performance. In this division, to take a point at Liverpool, who are potential champions of England, is very important.

"We had chances in the first half, but when you look at their bench you know they have players they can bring on as good as the ones going off. We knew they'd throw the kitchen sink at us and that's what happened.

"Mark Schwarzer made two very good saves, but we also had players who'd been away on international duty doing well.

"It was ironic the three players who had the longest trips, Brede Hangeland to Ukraine, John Paintsil to Ghana and Mark Schwarzer to Bahrain, were the ones who played the best.

"If that's how they play after internationals abroad, maybe I should be happy for them to go every week."

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