City hold on for a draw

Liverpool were left frustrated after a goalless draw at Manchester City which extended the hosts’ home festivities into the New Year.

The team with the best home record taking on the side with the best record away from home hinted at something spectacular.

But the last time City drew 0-0 at the City of Manchester Stadium, Liverpool were also the visitors and the parsimonious policies of Messrs Benitez and Eriksson prevailed, even if it was more by luck than tactical judgement.

A dominant Liverpool tried harder for the win but a lexicon of missed opportunities frustrated the visitors in the face of determined defensive opposition, led manfully by Richard Dunne.

Martin Petrov’s wanton dereliction of his defensive duties made for an open start to the match and Darius Vassell and Dunne had already missed sighters of goal when Petrov’s cross from the left was met by Elano, only for a combination of Fabio Aurelio and Jamie Carragher to deny the Brazilian.

Fernando Torres and Liverpool’s prodigal son Harry Kewell, meanwhile, looked Liverpool’s most profitable avenues.

Kewell, Torres and Dirk Kuyt combined midway through the half but the late arrival of the latter was thwarted by a thou-shalt-not-pass block from Micah Richards.

Carragher was equally adept at the other end as Elano honed in on goal from Stephen Ireland’s cute pass.

The odd aberration from makeshift centre back Alvaro Arbeloa aside, Liverpool took a more comfortable seat for the final 15 minutes of the half.

Kuyt’s shot was partially blocked for a corner, while Aurelio’s swinging shot swung just outside of Joe Hart’s right-hand post.

Yossi Benayoun had an even better view of goal two minutes before half time but, after engineering the opening for himself, his shot was weak and wide.

A record crowd at the City of Manchester Stadium of 47,321 had been treated to an entertaining if unproductive first half that was succeeded by a period of Reds dominance upon the restart.

Torres squandered two presentable opportunities within a minute of each other at the start of the second half.

Aurelio’s cross and Kuyt’s dummy caught the Spaniard on the hop and a stabbed effort at Hart lacked power, while, from Hart’s subsequent punt up field, the ball was immediately returned inadvertently to Torres by a hapless City defence but a miscued effort from the Spaniard saw another chance lost.

A failure of Liverpool’s marauding attack to pick out the right ball at the last inevitably frustrated the men in red.

With the creative threats of Elano stymied by Liverpool’s mop and bucket Javier Mascherano, City had offered precious little in attack, aside from the direct but increasingly intermitttent promptings of Petrov.

The 69th minute arrival of Anglophobe Rolando Bianchi, for the ineffectual Elano, was greeted with characteristically warm applause by City’s faithful but their side’s point was characterised almost solely by the resistance of Richards and Dunne.

Benitez’s displacement of Kewell for Ryan Babel and Eriksson’s withdrawal of Vassell for Geovanni saw both sides shuffling their pack but the two poker-faced bosses, mimicking City’s defence, were giving little away.

The Reds’ frustration was palpable and Kuyt was on cue with a headed chance from six yards that would have moved Liverpool two points closer to leaders Arsenal had the Dutchman not directed it too close to Hart.