Source: Telegraph
Liverpool Arsenal and Aston Villa all fall foul of curse of scoreless draw
On five occasions this season – and three times at Anfield – Liverpool have finished a match with the scoreboard untroubled.
Had those home stalemates – against Stoke City, Fulham and West Ham – instead produced victories, last week's dismantling of United would not just have breathed life in to a seemingly moribund title race – it would have taken them top.
This season is shaping up to be a vintage one for nil-nil scorelines, with 33 of 289 Premier League matches ending without either team scoring.
That figure represents over 11 per cent of games, only the second time in the history of the Premier League that such a figure has been reached.
The 1998-99 season still stands as the high watermark for goalless draws, when 49 of the 380 matches finished that way, a staggering 12.9 per cent of all contested.
Last season's total of 26 has already been well surpassed with almost a quarter of the season left to play.
Liverpool cannot be held completely responsible, and are not even the worst offenders.
Seven of Fulham's 29 fixtures this campaign have failed to yield a goal from either side and Aston Villa, like Liverpool, have five to their name so far.
It is little surprise that two of Liverpool's nil-nil encounters came against Martin O'Neill and Roy Hodgson's sides.
With Arsenal also producing games in which neither goalkeeper suffered the indignity of collecting the ball from their net, it is seductive to surmise that at the root cause is the gulf between the top five and the rest of the league.
Teams travelling to Villa Park, Anfield and the Emirates Stadium do so with defence as their key objective, counting as a major success ending a match with the point on offer they effectively started with.
Liverpool's resolute defence is rarely breached but against heavily packed midfields and defences they have, on occasion, been found wanting.
For this season to break the previous record, 17 more goalless draws are needed from the remaining 91 fixtures.
For that to happen, you imagine, Manchester City will have to come to the party. Mark Hughes' side are the only club in the top flight yet to serve up a nil-nil result.
Nil-nil draws in 2008-09 season so far:
Fulham 7
Aston Villa 5
Liverpool 5
Wigan 5
Arsenal 4
Blackburn Rovers 4
Stoke City 4
Tottenham 4
West Ham 4
Chelsea 3
Everton 3
Middlesbrough 3
Newcastle 3
Sunderland 3
Bolton 2
Manchester United 2
Portsmouth 2
West Brom 2
Hull City 1
Manchester City 0
