The reds huffed and puffed, especially in the closing stages of the game, but couldn’t get the goal which would have grabbed a vital three points.
The absence of Fernando Torres is now acutely visible for the reds who had enough chances to win this game against a Blackburn side riding high in the Premiership. The reds maintained their unbeaten record but 6 draws in 11 Premiership games is now starting to hurt our ambitions to land the title.
Liverpool played with Kuyt as the lone striker although Gerrard played in a more advanced supporting role, with both Sissoko and Mascherano sitting in central midfield behind him.
It was Blackburn who had the best chances of the first half with shots hitting both the post and the cross bar. The reds meanwhile had only managed to test Brad Friedel for the first time in the 41st minute with a powerful shot from Ryan Babel.
In the second half, the congestion in midfield began to ease, and the game was more free flowing. In the final 20 minutes Liverpool’s quality and fitness began to shine and the reds had a host of great chance to score, a couple from Gerrard, a header from Crouch, and a couple from Kuyt - one created from the incoming substitute Harry Kewell who looked promising.
But it wasn’t to be. A point away to a tough Blackburn side is not the most disappointing result but the reds will be kicking themselves that they didn’t manage to find the net.
Liverpool have begun to play better in recent matches and hopefully the improvement will continue against Besiktas on Tuesday when somebody is really going to have to find the back of the net.
Manager Reaction
Rafael Benitez:
“I am disappointed. We deserved to win. We created very, very clear chances - and plenty of them.
“When the game became more open we had more control and went forward. We had more offensive players.
“We must think about the positives, we had a lot of possession and a lot of chances. In the second half, their goalkeeper was their best player.”Blackburn boss Mark Hughes:
“It was a very good game. There were a number of chances for both teams. There were clear cut chances that on another day would have gone in.
“It was an evenly-matched game. But the last ten minutes were difficult for us.
“Liverpool had a number of chances and our keeper Brad Friedel did well for us when we were tired.” Teams
Liverpool: Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise, Benayoun (Crouch 72), Sissoko, Mascherano, Babel (Kewell 63), Gerrard, Kuyt.
Subs Not Used: Martin, Arbeloa, Lucas.
Booked: Carragher.
Blackburn: Friedel, Ooijer, Samba, Nelsen, Warnock, Emerton, Bentley, Dunn (Kerimoglu 56), Pedersen, Santa Cruz, McCarthy (Derbyshire 89).
Subs Not Used: Brown, Khizanishvili, Treacy.
Att: 30,033
Ref: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).
1 Response
1 | Gondo
Looking back at how the team played, it seems that almost all the players are having difficulty with their fitness. If this problem continues, maybe we can say good bye to the title that has eluded us for so long. Of course the team had improved from one match to another but other teams are also improving. P.s -is there any problem between the players in the team. e.g - Carra vs Mascha… Come on reds, Show your true colour and potential. Don’t let us down..YNWA..
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