Chelsea 0 - 0 Liverpool

Starting Eleven:
Cech
Belletti, Alex, Carvalho, A.Cole
Makalele, Lampard, Ballack
Wright-Phillips, Anelka, J.Cole
subs: Cudicini, Ben-Haim, Pizzaro, Mikel, Malouda

A disappointing game it was. Tell me its 4 years since we got defeated at the Bridge. Still I would be disappointed after yesterday's game. The day began well for blue fans with Manchester City defeating United to complete the double this season. But instead of banking in on United's slip, Chelsea drew with Liverpool at Anfield in a perfect stalemate. A second successive draw was the result of a frustrating game for Chelsea that provided little in the way of goal action.

Both teams frequently exchanged possession at the beginning of the game. It was not until a quarter of an hour the the first attempt on goal came. Crouch's header from a Finnan cross failed to trouble Cech. After 3 minutes, Crouch exchanged passes with Babel only to shoot wide. Two costly misses by the England international. Another Crouch shot was on target later, but another easy save for Cech it was.

In what appeared to be 'referee's justice' J.Cole was denied a penalty, maybe for the wrong refereeing decision made in Anfield earlier this season. J.Cole brought down in the area by Javier Mascherano, after he combined well with Ballack and A.Cole. Grant later told reporters that he thought it was a clear penalty. Nothing much happened till half time and no changes were made during halftime.

Anelka made a few runs but strayed wide on many occasions. Belletti was slow and halted the flow of passes many times and was constantly troubled by Babel until he was replaced by Pennant. Malouda and Mikel then replaced Lampard and Wright-Phillips. Neither team's midfield was able to dominate the game. Mascherano and Makalele played center stage, which means creativity from opposition was blocked. The teams competed for maximum number of wrong passes and possession changed hands (or legs?) easily.

In the final moments Chelsea came close to scoring with a flick from Ballack, who had the captain's armband now, just going wide of Reina's post. We surely lacked the cutting edge even though the team looked stronger than Liverpool, who played Skrtel and Lucas. Kuyt played wide in the right and did most of the running to track the two Cole's. Carragher was solid as ever, like Carvalho on the other side of the pitch. A perfect stalemate it was. A happy day for Eriksson and Arsene Wenger. The only good thing about the day was the look on ManU fans' face when the final whistle went in Old Trafford.

It was not the most entertaining game from the Blues, but things might improve with the return of Didier Drogba, Michael Essien and Salomon Kalou. Also there are reports that Captain John Terry is gaining full fitness and will be ready to play soon. Our next outing is against Huddersfield in the FA Cup.