Le Tallec: “Not a ‘Slave’ to Liverpool Anymore”

Anthony Le Tallec has expressed his relief after making a permanent move to Le Mans having been loaned out to 4 different clubs during his time at Liverpool. Keep Reading

Pongolle eager to play Liverpool

Florent Sinama Pongolle is eager to meet his old club in the Champion’s League. Pongolle made a few decent appearances for Liverpool before being moved on from Anfield to Spain. Keep Reading

Rafa has faith in youth

He’s not to Arsenal levels, but Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has been investing heavily in youth. One of the future stars ready to break through is Krisztian Nemeth, the striker leading the reserves to glory last season and has has even been capped by the Hungarian national squad. Keep Reading

And now the deal is off!

Contrary to earlier reports, Aston Villa’s Gareth Barry will remain at the Midlands club after an official statement was published on the club’s official website.

It read: “This evening, Aston Villa can announce that Gareth Barry will be staying with the club following the interest from Liverpool over recent months.

“During discussions in the past few days, a final deadline to conclude this episode was set that all parties were aware of and agreed to.

“This deadline has now passed and so Gareth will remain with Villa.”

Stream Links: Villareal (a)

Our pre-season continue’s this evening against La Liga surprise package Villareal.

Reina, Arbeloa, Alonso, Torres and Keane are all expected to play a part in tonight’s game as Benitez (pictured) looks to continue with our unbeaten pre-season campaign.

Registered members of our forums can access the stream links here, if you’re not already a member you can register for free here. More information on the software required for using these streams can be found over here.

Note: Kop-TV cannot be held responsible for the use of the provided stream links. Kop-TV does not host any stream nor do we have any control over the stream or it’s accessability. Please use at your own risk!

Barry Move Agreed!

According to online reports, a player-plus-cash deal has been agreed between the Reds and Aston Villa to bring Gareth Barry to Anfield.

Steve Finnan is said to be the only player involved in the exchange, along with £17.5million.

The Mail Online reports: The move is no surprise but the timing is, as Liverpool have still to sell to raise the relevant funds but know they have offers on the table for Jermaine Pennant and Yossi Benayoun.

Further interest has also been expressed in Andriy Voronin, Alvaro Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso.

Benitez made public his first bid for Aston Villa midfielder Barry in May and incurred the wrath of Villa boss Martin O’Neill.

Ngog criticised by former coach

David Ngog, pictured with Rafael Benitez, hasn’t played a match yet for Liverpool but is already receiving abuse in the press. Ngog’s coach in the youth French set-up claims his move was driven by frustration and finances rather than levelheadedness.

“David’s choice is a more economic one than a sport one,” Rabat told France-Football.

“He won’t be given a lot of time to play. He will have to fight to impose himself. Him leaving PSG so young is a shame.

“He has been lacking self-confidence for a year now and he didn’t score a lot. Pauleta’s departure offered him a chance to play his part, but he had some bad experiences.

“For example he was not part of the squad for the Coupe de France final, I think this hurt him.

“He was ahead compared to the other players when he was 16, 17 years of age, but now…

“He grew up a lot in a short space of time and has had lots of physical and muscular problems that slowed him down.

“And don’t forget that a certain Fernando Torres will be above him.” he added.

Ngog joined the Anfield club from Paris St Germain for £1.5 million this summer.

Keane backs Keane

It’s rare that you hear positive noises concerning Liverpool from an ex-Manchester United player, especially one as fierce as former captain Roy Keane. But in the case of fellow country-man Robbie Keane, Roy was full of praise.

The two played together frequently for the Republic if Ireland international team, and the current Sunderland boss took some time to talk about the striker’s major move to Liverpool this summer.

“Hopefully Robbie will go onto the next level because he has probably been behind the real top, top players,” he said according to Setanta Sports.

“Tottenham are not a bad team but when you go to Liverpool you are expected to win titles and cups, whereas at Tottenham maybe that was not the case.”

The two won’t be on the same team when Liverpool take on Sunderland in the opening weekend of the 2008/2009 Premier League season on August 16.

Keane doesn’t sound like he’s relishing the challenge: ”When you come up against teams in the Premiership, the players they have in attack are very good. I am sure they will cause us problems just like they did last year.”

Benayoun Agent Plays Down Exit Talk

Yossi Benayoun’s agent has played down talk of a summer move to former club West Ham. Reports were suggesting that the Liverpool winger could make a shock return to his former club West Ham. Keep Reading

Nemeth Rejects Chance to Join Leeds

19-year old striker Krisztian Nemeth has turned down the chance to join Leeds on Loan.  He has been continuously linked with a move to Elland Road as Benitez sees him gaining invaluable experience from playing in League One.

Tibor Pataky, his agent, said, “The Leeds link is not the next step for sure.”

Nemeth returned to first-team training after Hungary’s exit from the U-19 European Championships, and the striker seems intent on breaking into the Liverpool side.

“I really hope I can make my debut in the first team and I will do everything to be able to do that.” Said Krisztian Nemeth.

Benayoun in Shock Return to Former Club?

The Liverpool winger could make a shock return to his former club West Ham a year after leaving Upton Park to join the Reds.

Rafael Benitez is desperate to receive cash in order to fund the protracted transfer of Gareth Barry or surprise new transfer target David Silva.

West Ham manager Alan Curbishley has apparently contacted Liverpool about the 28-year-old winger’s availability and price as he looks to add yet another player to his squad after signing Valon Behrami.

Benitez in Search of Pot of Silva?

Rafael Benitez seems to put his plans of signing Gareth Barry on hold as he moves for Valencia midfielder David Silva.

Valencia currently have debts of over £400 million, and they seem willing to sell a few of their star players. Moreover, Valencia need money to fund their new £250 million stadium.

According to Silva’s agent, Julio Llorente, Valencia have already rejected a £17 million bid for Silva from Atletico Madrid, and with the fee for the player reportedly lower, Benitez seems ready to purchase a player who helped Spain win the European Championship.

Best Defensive Pairing - Poll Results

Over 1,000 of you voted on who YOU thought our current best defensive pairing were for the new season, and the results are in.

Hyypia & Agger came in last with just 8 votes (1%), closely followed by the pairing of Carragher & Hyypia with 23 votes (2%).  Skrtel & Carragher recieved a respectable 101 votes (10%).

It was the pairing of Agger & Skrtel who were voted the second most popular choice with 442 votes (42%), closely eclipsed by the rock-solid combination of Agger & Carragher that whetted many Kopites apetites with 455 votes (44%) who were voted our best defensive pairing for the new season.

101 votes (1%) voted for an alternative combination.

Robbie Keane Welcome to Liverpool - Compilation by MilanKakaBaros

MilanKakaBaros: “Cool compilation, main emphasize is the player so Liverpool fans get an idea of what type of player Rafa has purchased also good view for Spurs fans for all the great memories that Keano has given them.” Keep Reading

Boro issue hands-off warning over Downing

Middlesbrough insists that Stewart Downing is not for sale despite reports linking the winger with a move to Anfield this summer. Keep Reading

Babel recovery going well

Ryan Babel is currently away on international duty as he and the Dutch squad prepare for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Despite not being fully fit, Dutch coach Foppe de Haan will be counting heavily on Babel this August. Keep Reading

Ngog to be mentored by Torres

David Ngog, having just completed his £1.5million move from Paris St Germain, has already found the dressing room friendly. Fernando Torres, a player he idolizes, has taken the 19 year-old striker under his wing. Keep Reading

Liverpool’s £58m man

After completing a move worth £20 million, the total amount spent on Robbie Keane throughout his career is £58 million. Keep Reading

Keane handed fabled number 7 jersey

There has been a lot of good news in Robbie Keane land recently. He got married, made a dream move to Liverpool, and has also been handed the shirt number of some of his idols. Keep Reading

Keane Officially Signs

Robbie Keane has officially put pen to paper on a four-year deal worth an estimated £80,000 per week.

Keane, pictured in action against Carragher, completed his medical earlier today and Liverpool paid £21.5 million for his services.

This transfer is the sixth major move for the Irish striker who began his professional career at Wolves in 1997, later joining Tottenham in 2002, where he went on to score an impressive 107 goals in 253 appearances.

Keane commented on joining his boy-hood club by saying, “as a fan, joining Liverpool is a lifelong dream of mine and one I couldn’t let pass me by.”

Keane is Rafael Benitez’s fifth summer addition to the first-team squad that includes David Ngog, Diego Cavalleri, Phillip Degen and Andrea Dossena.

Brazilian Full-back to Join?

Rafinha has again shown up on Rafael Benitez radar, the Telegraph is reporting, after realizing Alvaro Arbeloa’s problems adjusting to life in Liverpool. Keep Reading

Keane passes medical

Tottenham Hotspur star, Robbie Keane, is understood to have passed his medical this morning ahead of his £18million switch to Anfield.

The Republic of Ireland striker has been under constant speculation recently surrounding his future but he arrived at Melwood last Friday to begin sealing his dream move.

All that remains are personal terms which should be a formality.

Villa to offer Barry a new deal

Liverpool target Gareth Barry looks set to receive a new deal from Aston Villa in the wake of Liverpool’s cooled interest. According to the Guardian, the bulk of Liverpool’s transfer budget will be spent on Robbie Keane instead.

“The clear message regarding Gareth is that everyone at Villa Park wants him to stay,” Villa manager Martin O’Neill said.

“I will talk to Gareth first of all. Our position has not changed - like I’ve said before, we will do everything we can [to keep him]. The player belongs to us. Liverpool know the situation. It’s not my job to pick up the phone to them.

“It’s very obvious we value him more than Liverpool do. He’s a top European player. The price we are asking is true and realistic. I think it’s really, really cheap actually but that doesn’t mean I want him to go. But if he felt he wanted to leave he saw the reaction on Saturday - it was incredibly positive.

“It’s obvious that we have some serious work to do with regards to getting players in. But I’m still confident that we will make progress with it in the next few weeks.” he added.

Liverpool were set to finance the Barry deal with the sale of Xabi Alonso to Juventus. Once that move broke down, the club have found gathering the appropriate funds difficult.

Yeats: “Skrtel has something about him”

Liverpool legend Ron Yeats, someone who knows a thing or two about defending, recently told Liverpoolfc.tv about his admiration for Martin Skrtel. A loyal fan who attends every home game, Yeats was there for the Slovakian’s debut versus Havant & Waterlooville in the FA Cup.

“I go to all the home games and after watching his debut I wasn’t very impressed,” said Yeats.

“When I say I wasn’t impressed I mean, I thought he was a bag of nerves. But I thought he must have something about him.”

Thrown into the deep end after coming over in January, Skrtel was asked to cover for the injured Daniel Agger. His patchy start gave way to a fine half-season in which he collected starts in Liverpool’s biggest games with Jamie Carragher pushed over to right back in order to accommodate the former Zenit man. The improvement did not go unnoticed by Yeats.

“In the games that followed he showed that he was very good player. He’s got a bit of pace and boy can he tackle and head the ball.

“That’s what you want from a center back. I think he’s only 23 and with him Agger, Carragher and the boy [Jack] Hobbs, we are well endowed with center backs.” he added.

Skrtel will certainly have a battle on his hands to keep that starting spot. Hyypia may be getting a bit old, but Carragher and Agger will both be desperate to start. Hobbs, however, has been lent out to Leicester City for the season.

Bad weather? Blame it on Degen

New signing Philipp Degen has taken a swipe at his former club Borussia Dortmund. Degen revealed that he was blamed for everything bad that happened at the club - including the weather! Keep Reading

Carson: “I was naive, but no regrets”

Scott Carson admits he was ‘naive’ to join Liverpool and expect to get into the first team straightaway. He was loaned out Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton, Aston Villa and finally making a £3.25million switch to West Bromwich. However, he insists that he has no regrets. Keep Reading

Impressive Willis Secures AFCL Victory

AFC Liverpool manager Derek Goulding make several changes to his starting eleven to face Formby in a pre-season friendly game at Altcar Road yesterday, but it was former International U-21 goalkeeper Paul Willis (pictured) that stole the plaudits after a fantastic display between the sticks for the amateur outfit.

Two top-notch saves and a fantastic penalty save secured the victory for AFC Liverpool as they look forward to the opening league game of the season against Darwen on August 9th.

Formby opened the scoring to put the Reds under pressure but they responded well despite missing a penalty to level the scores.

Dean Thurston volleyed home the equaliser, with Ryan Wignall grabbing the winning goal after some impressive play on the wing.

Visit the Official AFC Liverpool website for full information.

£6m bid received for ‘Arby’

Liverpool have received a £6million bid for Alvaro Arbeloa according to The People. Alvaro Arbeloa is planning to return to Spain citing personal reasons. Keep Reading

Liverpool Target ‘Not For Sale’

New Valencia President Vicente Soriano has confirmed that both David Silva and David Villa will not be sold. Liverpool has been linked with winger David Silva who is valued at around £15million. Keep Reading

Keane to sign ‘£20m’ Liverpool deal?

Robbie Keane will leave Tottenham Hotspurs and sign a £90,000-a-week five-year deal for Liverpool that will earn him over £20m. Keep Reading

Alonso in £12m move to Fenerbache?

Reports in The Mirror are suggesting that Xabi Alonso could be playing in Turkey next season. Liverpool are looking forward to offload the midfielder in an attempt to buy Gareth Barry. Keep Reading

Ince still keen on Liverpool winger

According to The Daily Mail, Paul Ince is still keen on bringing Jermaine Pennant to Ewood Park having pulled out of a deal for Ecudorian midfielder Segundo Castillo. Keep Reading

Reds youngster joins Leicester on loan

Leicester have signed Liverpool defender Jack Hobbs on loan until the end of the season. Hobbs spent the second half of last season on loan at Scunthorpe United. Keep Reading

Mascherano targets two trophies

Javier Mascherano, released by Liverpool for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing this August, has his sights set on two major trophies in the upcoming season. Keep Reading

Hansen calls for more width

Liverpool legend Alan Hansen thinks Liverpool need to look wider in their search of an elusive record-setting 19th league title. Rumors linking Garth Barry and Robbie Keane to Anfield don’t impress the former defender much.

Speaking at the launch of The New Football Pools, he said: “They are getting closer but still need three or four players. Gareth Barry would be a great acquisition but really they need wide players, a couple of full-backs and wingers.

“The movement of United’s frontline is phenomenal and they look like they can score goals from anywhere.

“Liverpool rely too heavily on the goals of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard. Take them out of the equation and I don’t see too many goals coming from any other areas.

“If they go with the squad they already have, their 11 best players can compete. It’s when you go deeper. Modern-day Premier League football is not about one team, it’s about two. United and Chelsea can replace quality with quality but Liverpool can’t.

“We won the championship in the 70s and 80s sometimes with great teams, sometimes with average teams. You can no longer do it with an average team, you have to be great to win the championship.”

Hansen (pictured in his heyday) seems blissfully unaware that Benitez has already aquired a pair of full-backs in Andrea Dossena and Philip Degen.

Keane dropped by Tottenham

In a pre-season friendly versus Hercules, Tottenham Hotspur manager Juande Ramos dropped captain Robbie Keane from both the starting lineup and the substitutes bench.

Pundits have latched onto the decision as a signal that the Republic of Ireland international will be joining Liverpool in the coming hours. It is thought that he is fit and that injury plays no part in the decision.

Dimitar Berbatov and Darren Bent started the game up front, despite both looking for moves away as well. That would indicate that Keane’s move is imminent, or at least much more than the respective moves of Berbatov and Bent.

A fee of £20m is expected, but negotiations are still on-going despite Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy reporting Liverpool to the Premier League for tapping-up.

Spanish contingent return to training

Liverpool’s squad in full has arrived for pre-season training. Euro 2008 champions Spain provided the last of those on vacation, as Fernando Torres (pictured with the Euro2008 cup), Xabi Alonso, Alvaro Arbeloa, and Pepe Reina joined their teammates in Melwood.

Rafa Benitez is obviously pleased to have such a crucial quartet back under his supervision. “All the Spanish players will be back training with us on Friday,” said Benitez.

“Torres will be one of them and hopefully we will see the difference in our play because of the quality these players showed last season.” he added.

The four could take part in a friendly against Spanish side Villarreal Wednesday. It’s unlikey skipper Steven Gerrard will be fully fit in time for the game.

Dossena keen on attacking

Andrea Dossena will have endeared himself to Liverpool fans with his recent comments in LFC Magazine.

The Italian full-back, brought in to reinforce the backline this summer, dimissed the idea that he is only interested in defense. Despite his ethnicity, Dossena likes to pressure teams even when ahead.

“I am not a fan of catenaccio, it’s not for me, I don’t like it when teams just try to pass the ball around to waste time.” said the Italian.

“If you concede a goal in the last minute of a game, it could be that all your efforts have been wasted. I don’t really like the talk about Italian football being all about the defence and attacking on the break.

“Of course, I see myself as a defender but I like to be flexible too. If there is a chance to attack I am very happy to go forward. I am not the type of player who is happy to settle for a 1-0 win.

“I believe in always playing to win and trying to score more goals.” he added.

Dossena will provide competition with Brazilian Fabio Aurelio for the left back spot, and both will look to provide width in the attack.

Antwi loaned to Tranmere

Liverpool have loaned reserve defender Godwin Antwi to Tranmere Rovers until January 2009, Liverpoolfc.tv are reporting.

The Ghanan-born defender is 20 years old and in look of more first team action after appearing 27 times for Harttlepool United last year. Antwi joined Liverpool from Real Zaragoza in 2005.

Antwi said: “I’m very happy to be at Tranmere. It is a good club and it will be a great experience for me.
“I’m looking forward to meeting my new teammates and some hard training ahead of the season.”

Tranmere manager Ronnie Moore said: “I’d like to thank Rafa Benitez and Liverpool Football Club for allowing him to come here. It is great that the two clubs are able to work together to help the career of a young player.

“Godwin is a very talented young defender who we’ve been watching for some time. When I heard he had become available on loan I jumped at the chance of bringing him in to play right back.

“He is comfortable on the ball, already has Football League experience from his time at Hartlepool and he will add quality, strength and pace to our defence.” he added.

Antwi is eligable to play for both Ghana and Spain due to a Spanish passport, and has been called up to the Spanish U-19 squad. He also captained the reserve team as an 18 year-old before loan spells at Hartlepool and Accrington Stanley.

Liverpool Sign French Starlet

French U-19 striker David Ngog signed from Paris Saint-Germain FC £1.5m.  Ngog is a cousin of former Newcastle defender Jean-Alain Boumsong.

He is a product of a PSG’s esteemed academy that produced former red Nicolas Anelka, and has appeared 18 times last season for the first team scoring a solitary goal.

However, the 19 year old striker has been in prolific form for all levels of the French youth team and recently scored two goals against England U-19 team.

Spanish Defender to Leave?

Benitez may find himself in a precarious position for the beginning of the season after discovering that right sided defender Alvaro Arbeloa is planning to return to Spain citing personal reasons.

The 25 year old was signed from Deportivo La Coruna in January 2007 for £2.6 million in January 2007.  Since his move from Depor, Arbeloa has cemented his place as Liverpool’s first choice right back with consistent performances.

Arbeloa’s decision to leave may cause Benitez to completely scupper his decision to sign Gareth Barry as Steve Finnan would not be able to act as a makeweight in the deal.

A headache called tactics

Towards the end of last season, we finally saw Rafa stop experimenting and sticking to a particular tactic.

It was the 4-2-2-1-1, with four defenders, two defensive midfielders, two wingers, one support striker (free-role) and one forward. This worked really well for us and it helped it string a lot of wins.

However, Rafa may not opt to use this tactic the coming season. His buyings in the transfer market suggest that he may opt for two up-front. But you never know with Rafa!! For nothing he is called a “Master Tactician”.

So here are the tactics that I feel the Gaffer may opt to use this season:

4-2-2-1-1:

Rafa used a similar tactic towards the end of last season, successfully.

I feel he may opt for the same tactic this season with slight tweaks. Instead of Gerrard, Robbie Keane may be asked to play in the free-role while Gerrard may play on the right.

Gerrard can make diagonal runs and can run along the touch-line if need be.

Keane is perfectly suited to the free-role. Torres will play up-front alone, a style which suits him.

The only problem with this tactic is the fact that Gerrard may be played on the right, a position which doesn’t get the best out of him. And who would want that?

4-1-3-2:

This tactic is similar to the one employed by Spain.

We have four at the back, one defensive midfielder, two wingers who bomb forward and one central midfielder in, plus two forwards. We have people who’ll fit into this tactic but the problem with this one is that it requires only one defensive midfielder while we have plenty of DM’s (a bit too many if we sign Barry).

Also, Torres seems a big bogged down playing with someone up-front, like he showed when he played for Spain along with Villa.  He came into his own in the final when he was alone up-front.

Also, this tactic somewhat restricts the movement of full-backs due to there only being one defensive midfielder.

5-2-1-2:

This tactic has been talked about a lot especially we have signed full-backs who love to bomb forward. This would also accommodate three good centre-backs in Carra, Agger and Skrtel.

The two defensive midfielders would give the full-backs to attack to their liking. This formation would allow Gerrard to operate in his favourite free-role while accommodating both Torres and Keane.

Again the problem of Torres up-front with a partner crops up. Also, this formation would not allow us to play wingers which would mean Kuyt, Babel on the bench, something which Rafa won’t allow.

Rafa has a nice headache for the coming season. It is a crunch season for him, as he looks to mount a serious title challenge. This will be a season which will define Rafa’s future. He will have to come up with a tactic to suit our style of play. Some players may be benched, some may be played out of position.

What is your opinion?  Which tactic do you think will Rafa adopt?

Written by SOV.

Reds winger set for loan move

Sebastian Leto is set for a loan move to Greek side Olympiakos. The Argentine joined the Reds last season for £1.85 million but has yet to feature in a league game due to passport issues. Keep Reading

Video Compilation of David Ngog

Liverpool have just completed the signing of French striker David Ngog. Here’s a video compilation of Ngog in action. Keep Reading

Pacheco dreams of an all-Spanish strike partnership

Spanish teenage sensation Daniel Pacheco dreams of an all-Spanish strike partnership with Fernando Torres in the near future. Keep Reading

Barry jeered as he turns out for reserves

Just a few weeks back, Villa fans were chanting Barry’s name in glorification. Now, they are jeering him. After the Villa captain publicly stated his desire to join the reds, he has been given the clod shoulder by his manager and his fans. Keep Reading

Benitez snaps up Spanish youngster

Highly-rated Spanish full-back Emmanuel Mendy has put pen to paper to become Rafa Benitez’s third capture of the summer after completing a free transfer from Murcia Deportivo, signing a three-year deal in the process.

Like the other two signings (degen and Dossena), he is a versatile wing back capable of playing on either flank and is said to have a bright future ahead of him.

He is clearly one the future, and we could well be seeing him make a major impact in the EPL in a few years time after battling it out amongst Gary Ablett’s reserve side for a while.

The 18-year-old joins Christopher Buchtmann, Nikola Saric, Zsolt Poloskei and Vincent Lucas Weijl as new reserve team recruits.

VIDEO: Hertha 0 - 0 Liverpool

Andriy Voronin missed from the penalty spot at the Olympic Stadium as Liverpool drew with Hertha Berlin in our fourth pre-season friendly of the 2008/09 season.

Here’s all the action from our live commentary service:

90? The referee ends a dreary game which ends 0-0.

90? Dossena wins a corner after good play by Benayoun on the left wing but it comes to nothing once again as both sides look resigned in accepting a draw.

86? 51,641 is the official attendance for tonights game.

83? Three corners for Liverpool in quick succession, all taken by Benayoun, amount to nothing as Hertha dig in late on in the game.

80? Voronin breaks through the Hertha backline and chips the ball towards Dossena at the far post but the Hertha defence recovers well.

76? Stein is invited to shoot from distance after the defence sat back but his curling shot went just wide of Martins goal.

75? Liverpool substitutions: Leto and Pacheco are replaced by Kuyt and Spearing.

73? Pantelic strikes from long range but it is deflected wide of Martins goal.

66? Liverpool substitutions: Pennant, Cavalieri and Plessis are replaced by Hobbs, Benayoun and Martins.

63? Cavalieri saves well low down at his right post after fierce header from another Hertha attack.

50? Voronin will take the penalty for Liverpool.  SAVED! Fantastic save by the Hertha Berlin ‘keeper who stretched well to his right.

50? PENALTY! Kaka pulled down Voronin in the penalty area with the referee pointing straight to the spot.

45? Liverpool Substitutions: Carragher, Insua, Darby and Agger are replaced by Degen, Skrtel, Hyypia and Dossena.

45? Hertha get the second-half underway.

45? The referee blows for half-time.  The score remains 0-0 at the Olympic Stadium.

42? Great defending by Stephen Darby who made a great tackle to prevent a one-on-one with Cavalieri, Carragher clears the danger with a header out for a corner which is defended well by Plessis.

40? Berlin hold posession and get a shot on goal but it rolls harmlessly to Cavalieri.  Liverpool need to keep their wits about them if they are to get a result from this game as Hertha Berlin begin to take control of the game.

39? Long searching ball from Leto almost finds Pacheco after beating Kaka to the ball but it bounces too hard to the Berlin ‘keeper.

35? Hertha break quickly but strike fiercly into the side-netting.  Another warning to the Liverpool back line who look a little static tonight.

31? Liverpool get a corner after a good run on the right wing by Pacheco.  Poor play by Liverpool as play breaks down.

24? Approaching halfway through the first half, both teams looking to play attacking football but neither ‘keeper has had much to do so far.

14? Mascherano drives from just outside the box but it flies straight into Row Z.

10? Pennant goes down after making a run from midfield, he hobbles back to his feet.

6? Hertha strike from long range but it fades away just wide.

5? Liverpool passing the ball around confidently, maintaining the majority of possession so far.

2? Liverpool start off brightly using Pennant out on the right.

1? Liverpool get the game underway.

Hertha 0 - 0 Liverpool (Half Time)

Both teams have failed to beat the deadlock at the Olympic Stadium after a dreary first-half that has seen very little action at the sharp end of the pitch.

You can follow the game via our live text commentary service or using the stream links provided.

Here’s the match action so far:

45? The referee blows for half-time.  The score remains 0-0 at the Olympic Stadium.

42? Great defending by Stephen Darby who made a great tackle to prevent a one-on-one with Cavalieri, Carragher clears the danger with a header out for a corner which is defended well by Plessis.

40? Berlin hold posession and get a shot on goal but it rolls harmlessly to Cavalieri.  Liverpool need to keep their wits about them if they are to get a result from this game as Hertha Berlin begin to take control of the game.

39? Long searching ball from Leto almost finds Pacheco after beating Kaka to the ball but it bounces too hard to the Berlin ‘keeper.

35? Hertha break quickly but strike fiercly into the side-netting.  Another warning to the Liverpool back line who look a little static tonight.

31? Liverpool get a corner after a good run on the right wing by Pacheco.  Poor play by Liverpool as play breaks down.

24? Approaching halfway through the first half, both teams looking to play attacking football but neither ‘keeper has had much to do so far.

14? Mascherano drives from just outside the box but it flies straight into Row Z.

10? Pennant goes down after making a run from midfield, he hobbles back to his feet.

6? Hertha strike from long range but it fades away just wide.

5? Liverpool passing the ball around confidently, maintaining the majority of possession so far.

2? Liverpool start off brightly using Pennant out on the right.

1? Liverpool get the game underway.

Hertha Berlin: Free Live Text Commentary