By Phil Browne
Liverpool’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League were dealt another blow as they failed to break down a resolute Fulham defence.
Frustrated: Alberto Aquilani
The afternoon started badly for the home side as star striker Fernando Torres was ruled out of the game with a knee injury.
David Ngog replaced the Spaniard in an attacking line-up that included Ryan Babel and Maxi Rodriguez. Alberto Aqualani also started in place of Lucas.
The Reds dominated possession for long periods of the game but found the London side’s defence too difficult to penetrate.
While this may have been a potential dress rehearsal for the Europa League final for Fulham (providing both sides can come through their semi-final matches) it held much more significance for Liverpool who are still chasing their rivals for fourth spot.
Aqualani had an influential game in the middle of the park and he came as close as anybody to breaking the deadlock, adding a good long distance strike to an earlier overhead kick.
Despite having the lion’s share of the ball, Liverpool seemed to lack the guile and creativity to get in behind the Fulham back line. When the magnificent Torres is missing from the team, you feel Liverpool could play for a week and not score a goal.
Arguably the best chance fell to Sotirios Kyrgiakos but the giant Greek headed over when it would have been easier to hit the target.
As the seconds ticked by, the Reds grew more and more desperate. Dirk Kuyt added an extra dimension to the attack after he came off the bench and Glen Johnson continued to look dangerous bombing on from right-back.
But it was not enough as Fulham held on to the point they had clearly come to take.
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez admitted it was a bad day for his side.
"I am a little bit disappointed, normally when you control the game and have chances you can score. We know the fourth position is a little bit far away." said Benitez
"We needed to be patient and it was not easy to find the final pass in the final third.
"I am disappointed because I feel that we had plenty of possession’."
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Posted by: Vaclav | 04/12/2010 at 01:43 PM