- Date:2008-09-20
- Kick-off:15:00
- Venue:Anfield
- Attendance:43931
- Referee:Marriner, A
Live Commentary
90mins
Full-Time: LIVERPOOL 0-0 DERBY. Liverpool wasted several good chances but Stoke defended brilliantly to claim an unlikely point.
90mins
Fuller fouls Carragher and is booked
90mins
Gerrard drags a shot wide, Stoke are two minutes away from a draw
90mins
Intense Liverpool pressure as three minutes of injury time is added
88mins
Liverpool win two corners but still they can't find the breakthrough
87mins
Stoke are closing in on securing a famous draw with just three minutes left
85mins
Martin Skrtel becomes the first man to be booked.
85mins
Torres wastes a decent opening after creating a bit of space for himself in the box
82mins
Delap fires in another long throw but Liverpool just about deal with it
80mins
Another Gerrard shot is wide, Liverpool really running out of time now
78mins
Kitson goes off for Ricardo Fuller
77mins
Dossena's cross flies over after another period of Liverpool possession deep in the Stoke half
76mins
Gerrard's shot is deflected wide for a corner but Stoke clear it
74mins
Keane goes off and Yossi Benayoun is on
72mins
Carragher curls a shot just wide as the pressure grows on Stoke
72mins
Liverpool are doing all the attacking but still they can't find a way past the Potters defence
69mins
Torres wins a free-kick but Gerrard's delivery sees the ball fly wide
68mins
Kuyt drills a shot on goal but Sorensen beats it away
67mins
Richard Cresswell is on in place of Lawrence for Stoke
66mins
Ryan Babel is on in place of Riera
65mins
Torres blazes over from close range as Liverpool waste another great chance
63mins
Arbeloa's cross is well claimed by Sorensen
60mins
There's the first signs of frustration from the home fans with an hour played and still it's 0-0
58mins
Riera's cross is poor as the Reds waste another promising position
57mins
Liverpool are camped in the Stoke half as Torres tries to get behind the defence but runs the ball out of play
54mins
Arbeloa's cross is headed inches wide by Torres as Liverpool press again
52mins
Delap's long throw causes panic in the Liverpool box and Stoke win a corner but Reina catches it well
51mins
Arbeloa does well on the right before crossing for Keane but his shot is well held by Sorensen
49mins
Torres runs at the Potters defence and wins a corner from which Riera turns the ball well over the bar
48mins
Liverpool win their first corner of the second half but Stoke clear it well
47mins
Liam Lawrence is caught offside as he stabs a shot wide
46mins
Sidibe breaks into the Liverpool half but Martin Skrtel slides in to win the ball
46mins
Liverpool get the second half underway, kicking towards The Kop end
45mins
Half-Time: LIVERPOOL 0-0 STOKE. It's goalless at the break and Stoke have defended well to restrict Liverpool who had an early Gerrard effort disallowed.
45mins
Delap's trademark long throw is caught well by Reina
45mins
Two minutes of stoppage time will be played
44mins
Delap blocks another cross for another Liverpool corner, more pressure from the home side
42mins
Andy Griffin blocks Riera's cross with his arm and Liverpool win a free-kick but Sorensen punches it clear
41mins
Alonso wastes a free-kick as he completely overhits it and the ball flies into the Anfield Road stand
39mins
Liam Lawrence's cross is too close to Reina
37mins
Liverpool are having plenty of possession still but without a cutting edge at the minute as Alonso blasts a shot over
35mins
Arbeloa tries to feed the ball in for Torres but the pass is overhit
34mins
Jose Reina has to be quick out of his goal to claim the ball before Gerrard drags a shot wide
32mins
Kuyt's shot from distance is well wide. Liverpool have been restricted to shots from distance so far
31mins
Gerrard breaks forward again but Stoke's defence work hard to win the ball off him
29mins
Delap puts the ball behind for a corner and from it Alonso's shot is brilliantly saved by Sorensen for another corner
27mins
Riera's strike is just a few yards wide as Liverpool stretch the Stoke defence again
26mins
Dirk Kuyt is penalised for a foul but Reina easily gathers the free-kick
25mins
Cort does well to cover as Torres almost gets clear
23mins
Riera's cross is cleared after the new signing does well down the left initiallly
21mins
Ibrahima Sonko is forced to limp off after picking up a knock and Leon Cort is on in his place
19mins
Gerrard's shot from at least 35 yards is well high and wide as Liverpool continue to dominate possession
17mins
Gerrard's shot is blocked as Alvaro Arbeloa is fouled by Delap but Liverpool waste the free-kick
15mins
Torres goes down under a challenge but doesn't get a free-kick as Sidibe is caught offside
13mins
Gerrard play a one-two with Torres before finding Alonso but his shot is poor and it flies high and wide
12mins
Dossena does well at left-back to clear as Stoke launch a rare attack early on
12mins
Gerrard's free-kick is well held by Sorensen
10mins
Thomas Sorensen has to rush out to clear a through ball as Liverpool attack again
8mins
Rory Delap is penalised for a foul throw
5mins
It's been a very lively start at Anfield as Dave Kitson fires the ball high over the bar for the Potters
3mins
Stoke immediately go up the other end and win a corner of their own but Liverpool clear
2mins
Steven Gerrard looks like he's given Liverpool the lead direct from a corner but it's been ruled out for a foul. That would have been his 100th Liverpool goal
0mins
The match is underway at Anfield
0mins
Robbie Keane, Xabi Alonso and Albert Riera all come in for Liverpool while Mamady Sidibe and Abdoulaye Faye return to the Stoke side who also include former Liverpool midfielder Salif Diao.
Match Preview
Liverpool have the opportunity to pull clear at the top of the table when they welcome Stoke City to Anfield.
The Reds, who remained level with Chelsea at the top following last weekend's 2-1 win over rivals Manchester United, are in action 24 hours before those two heavyweights trade blows at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Rafa Benitez's side have provided an early response to the critics who suggested they were still a few quality players away from a serious assault on the title following an unbeaten start to the new season.
What will please the Spaniard even more is the fact that his side has ground out 10 points from a possible 12 - including victories over Sunderland and Middlesbrough - without hitting any great heights.
Robbie Keane has yet to find the net in over 500 minutes of action since his £18million arrival from Spurs, while the wider team has only mustered three goals in four Premier League games.
However, Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard are expected to return to the startling line-up after only making the bench against United.
Yossi Benayoun is likely to make way following Albert Riera's impressive debut, with Benitez's biggest problem perhaps being how best to shuffle his pack now that he has plenty of options available.
Reality appears to be sinking in at Stoke City as they arrive at Anfield second bottom of the fledgling Premier League table.
The Potters were widely expected to struggle in their first season back in the top-flight and, but for a surprise 3-2 win over Aston Villa last month, have lost all three of their other games.
Last weekend they went down 3-2 at home to Everton, but gave manager Tony Pulis reason to be cheerful after bouncing back from two goals down to make a fight of it.
"At 2-0 down we could have laid down and conceded more but we were fantastic and managed to get back into the game," he said.
"We need to make sure we start keeping a few clean sheets though, because we're conceding too many, and that's a bit of a worry."
However, that will be easier said than done against the might of Liverpool at Anfield and in the continued absence of banned defensive midfielder Amady Faye.
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Match Report
Liverpool were held to shock goalless draw at Anfield by Premier League newcomers Stoke City.
The Reds dominated proceedings throughout, with a staggering 75 per cent of the possession, but failed to capitalise on their unrelenting pressure.
Skipper Steven Gerrard found the net on two minutes via a free-kick from outside the box. The celebrations for both the captain and crowd were cut short when referee Andre Marriner disallowed it for offside.
Robbie Keane's frustration continued as he still awaits his first goal in a Liverpool shirt. He came close to opening his account on eight minutes when a shot from eight yards out was saved by City keeper Thomas Sorensen.
The visitors barely threatened in the first 45 minutes, spending most of the time in their own half.
Ventures into the Liverpool half for the Potters came in the form of hopeful long balls, which, for the best part were fruitless. They came closest with a long-range effort from Dave Kitson after five minutes which sailed just over Jose Reina's goal.
Xabi Alonso very nearly opened the scoring for the Merseysiders just before the half hour mark when his blistering shot from the edge of the box was tipped around the visitors' post by Sorensen.
Liverpool started the second half in the same vain that they opened the match, forcing three corners within three minutes.
Keane replicated his first-half chance, finding himself in a almost identical position but again only managed to direct the ball into the clutches of the keeper.
Spanish right-back Alvaro Arbeloa ventured forward on 53 minutes and found himself with the time and space to pick out his fellow countryman Fernando Torres, but the forward headed just wide.
Minutes later neat work from Keane allowed Dirk Kuyt to find Torres whose shot deflected over the bar for a corner.
It was Kuyt who looked most lively at this stage of the match, forcing Sorensen into a low save and a just after curling a shot just wide.
Gerrard clearly fancied his chances from set-pieces and attempted a retake of his disallowed first half goal. The ball sailed just wide of the post.
Keane was replaced by Yossi Benayoun on with just over 15 minutes to go as Rafa Benitez looked to explore new attacking options.
The home side were finding the afternoon increasingly frustrating as the match entered its final stages. Gerrard tried several long-range efforts but to no avail.
Danish keeper Sorensen incensed The Kop on more than one occasion by taking his time on goal-kicks. A sign that Stoke and their vociferous army of fans in the away section, were starting to sense a positive result.
The Merseysiders kept up their drive right to the end with Alonso, Torres and Gerrard all trying their luck.
But Stoke still coped with a fine defensive display, particularly from centre-back Abdoulaye Faye and the ever-safe Sorensen between the sticks.
Four of Liverpool's five league goals so far in this campaign have come in the final ten minutes of matches. But this was to prove one step too far Benitez's men.
Liverpool Team
Stoke City Team
Liverpool | Stoke City |
Corners
| 20 | 3 |
Fouls
| 8 | 10 |
Goal attempts
| 27 | 3 |
Shots off target
| 16 | 1 |
Offsides
| 1 | 3 |
90mins
Gerrard's shot is over with time almost up