FOOTBALL Live

Monday December 1, 2008 Finished Anfield

0 - 0

Liverpool

West Ham

  1. Liverpool waste chance

    Liverpool waste chance

    Liverpool went top of the Premier League but failed to open up a three-point gap as they were held to a 0-0 draw by West Ham at Anfield. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Liverpool
    • West Ham
    • 90+3' The final whistle goes, and the Anfield crowd boo the Liverpool players who really fluffed their lines tonight. West Ham earn what is a big point for them, but back-to-back goalless draws mean Liverpool only go one ahead of Chelsea.
    • 90+3' One final corner for Liverpool, one final chance to win. The ball is half-cleared to BABEL.. The shot is scuffed and West Ham hack it clear!
    • 90+2' It's end-to-end now, as west Ham come forward and Carlton Cole is played through... SAVED BY REINA!! The flag was up, it wouldn't have counted. The replay shows Cole was onside when the ball was playede. Just as well he didn't score really.
    • 90+1' Babel runs across the edge of the area trying to work the shot, but he's hounded by Collins. BABEL SHOOTS... The shot hits the stanchion behind the goal! Collins's challenge got the slightest of touches, and it's a corner. What a game Collins has had.
    • 89' West Ham break forward and Parker finds Boa Morte in loads of space. Boa Morte STRIKES... Slashed wide of the target and into the crowd! You have to feel for him, he's only been on a few minutes.
    • 87' Alonso will take a corner for Liverpool that's headed out to GERRARD... His shot is charged down by Neill! Gerrard gets it back and sprays a wonderful pass to KUYT AT THE FAR POST... SAVED BY GREEN!! Green blocked Kuyt's side-footed effort!
    • 86' Faubert comes off for Luis Boa Morte, who will add his own brand of rough and ready paly to the final few minutes.
    • 85' The corner coems to nothing and Liverpool break. For the umpteenth time tonight Ilunga's arms block a cross... The corwd are clearly losing patience with the referee, but he has pretty much got it right every time.
    • 83' Behrami wins a corner off Arbeloa. Could they nick all three points here? The corner is cleared but they come again down the right with Cole. He's got Parker screaoming for the pass... He's tackled and they have another corner.
    • 81' Another Liverpool corner. Gerrard swings it in and Green comes but HYYPIA IS THERE FIRST... It's goes wide of the far post as Kuyt slides in just a fracgtion too late! Nobody has had more chances to win this match than Sami Hyypia.
    • 78' Ryan Babel makes his appearance, coming on for Riera. The Liverpool corner comes to nothing.
    • 78' Collins has been a rock tonight for West Ham, and he heads Riera's cross into the stands for a corner.
    • 76' Alonso looks left, lokks right, and decides to shoot from distance, but the shot is right into the arms of Green.
    • 74' Riera tries one stepover too many and the ball runs out for a goal kick. Ryan Babel is warming up now as Rafa Benitez looks to inject something, anything into his team which is getting more and more frustrated.
    • 73' Ilunga gets treated and is back on his feet, and West Ham can't make anything of their advanced throw-in.
    • 71' Liverpool have a corner. It's cleared away and with Ilunga on the floor West Ham break through Cole. Benayoun slides in with a timely chalenge just as the striker was about to break into the Liverpool box. This looks promising for the closing stages of this game.
    • 70' Riera cuts a ball back to the edge of the box for Gerrard, who tries to tee himself up on his left rather than volley on his right and succeeds only in pulling off an embarrassing air-kick! Bellamy charges up the other end but is crowded off the ball.
    • 67' West Ham have got themselves a corner. Bellamy fires it to the near post for CARLTON COLE... HEADED WIDE! Very good chance for the Hammers.
    • 65' Young forward David N'Gog is getting ready to come off, and it will be Robbie Keane who makes way.
    • 62' The ball hits Ilunga's hand AGAIN! This time it's a genuine handball on the edge of the area, but Gerrard's dead-ball delivery doesn't find Hyypia this time.
    • 61' Gerrard has another chance to shoot here, this time on his left... He's off-balance when he strikes and the ball is sliced wide and into the crowd.
    • 57' Liverpool continue to push though, and a cross is only cleared as far as BENAYOUN... WHAT A SAVE BY GREEN!! Benayoun fair hammered it towards the top corner and Green was at full stretch to tip it over! Wonderful save!
    • 56' Liverpool patiently building an attack here. Alonso squares a ball across Gerrard to try and shoot, but Mullins does brilliantly to force the England man out wide from right on the edge of the D. Well played.
    • 54' Bellamy leaves Hyypia for dead on the wing and scampers away. Alonso body-checks his former team-mate and gets the booking he fully expected to receive for the challenge.
    • 53' Faubert initiates a nice one-two with Parker and almost gets it back inside the box, but a great recovering slide tackle from Dossena robs him of the ball.
    • 51' Kuyt is going through the middle and has Gerrard available but elects to SHOOT... Kuyt's shot from 25 yards out is dragged wide of the mark, and his captain is not happy!
    • 48' Faubert dinks a nice ball over the top for Cole to run on to... He went too early and is flagged offside.
    • 47' The home side have started brightly. Riera twists and turns as he tries to send a ball in, but in the end his cross finds only Robert Green.
    • 46' No changes for either side at the break, by the way.
    • 46' Liverpool will kick off looking towards the Kop as they go in search of the goal that will send them three points clear at the top of the league.
    • 45+1' The half-time whistle blows, and for all Liverpool's possession it's been West Ham who have had the best chance, Craig Bellamy's shot hitting the post. Not a convincing showcase of Liverpool's title aspirations, but they have another 45 minutes to put that right.
    • 45' Benayoun loses out to Ilunga and brings the full-back down trying to regain the ball. Bellamy will take the free-kick out on the left, and cheekily tries a shot for the near post! Reina is alert though, and saves well.
    • 43' Anyway, Alonso's ball pings over to the far post and KUYT HEADS... Green stops the ball dead as he saves at the near post and grabs on to hold before Keane can dive in for the rebound!
    • 42' Liverpool step it up a gear now, but they are still struggling to play their way into space in the final third. Kuyt wins a corner, and Dossena will take it. The ball in is cleared for another corner, and now Alonso will come over and take this one! Very odd...
    • 38' Hyypia starts a Liverpool attack but the move breaks down and suddenly Bellamy has space to run into. HE STRIKES FROM DISTANCE... THE SHOT CRASHES OFF THE POST!! Bellamy unleashed a bullet that had Reina sprawling as it rebounded off the frame of the goal! A real wake-up call for Liverpool.
    • 37' West Ham put together their first concise move, passing through the midfield beofre Hyypia steps forward to calmly nick the ball off Faubert. Excellent defending.
    • 32' A few West Ham fans were talking before kick-off about how their team are playing nicer football under Zola. We're yet to see any of that tonight. This is a side playing for a 0-0 draw.
    • 31' Alonso tries his luck from 30 yards, but the ball sails wide of Robert Green's goal.
    • 28' Bellamy tussles with Carragher for a long ball, but the Welshman uses his hand to nudge it past the defender. The referee was wise to it though. Inexplicably, however, there is no booking.
    • 28' Riera's cross is blocked by Lucas Neill, and Liverpool have another corner. Hyypia trots forward again, but the set piece beats everyone.
    • 27' A perfect example of West Ham's struggles - Faubert has the ball at his feet, headed towards goal, but with no support and two Liverpool men on him, he resorts to a long shot that trickles into Reina's hands.
    • 25' Dossena tries to be too clever and chip in a diagonal ball with the outside of his boot, but Collins is there to intercept. West Ham are lookin vulnerable right now.
    • 22' Ilunga gives away another corner, and Gerrard's ball is headed back across for HYYPIA.. The header is cleared off the line by Carlton Cole! Green could only watch it pass him!
    • 21' Alonso is loitering near the ball, but it will be GERRARD TO STRIKE... Deflected behind for a corner.
    • 20' Benayoun bursts through the middle and Mullins brings him down. That's a booking, and Liverpool have a free-kick uin a good position...
    • 19' Xabi Alonso carries the ball into the West Ham half before sliding a perfectly-weighted ball between full-back and centre-back for Arbeloa to chase, but the Spaniard can't get a ball in first time and ends up fouling Behrami.
    • 16' The corner comes in and it's HYYPIA WHO MEETS IT... Headed over the bar! Not for the first time, the big Finn's height is just too much for defenders to handle. He should have at least tested Green from there.
    • 15' Benayoun slips a ball down the channel that both Kuyt and Keane chase! Keane gets there and - with nobody to aim for in the area - fires a shot from a wide angle that is blocked by Collins and out for a corner.
    • 14' Gerrard's cross is punched away one-handed by Green and it falls for RIERA WHO SHOOTS FIRST TIME... Collins is back guarding the goal and he blocks the shot!
    • 13' Pepe Reina comes storming off his line and out of his area to get to a long ball aimed at Bellamy. He hoofs it downfield and away.
    • 9' Kuyt takes his turn to cross from the right, and AGAIN it hit's Ilunga's arms! Once more, though, it would be a harsh decision to give a spot-kick, as the full-back raised his arms to block his face.
    • 8' Gerrard comes deep and tries a defence-splitting through ball... It goes through the West Ham back four all right, then carries on out for a goal kick with a red shirt nowhere near it.
    • 6' Collins mis-cues a clearance and Upson has to hack it upfield. Alonso finds Benayoun out wide and the Israeli chips in a ball that HITS ILUNGA'S ARM... NO PENALTY!! Big appeals from the crowd, but the referee was well placed and saw that Ilunga didn't know much about it.
    • 3' Anfield is in fine voice as Liverpool finally get their foot on the ball. Both sides have had time to knock the ball around among themselves.
    • 2' The Hammers are in their sky blue away kit, sporting their now-familiar school sports day numbers on the front of their shirts.
    • 1' Referee Peter Walton blows his whistle and West Ham get this show on the road!
    • 19:56 The players are walking out on to the pitch now. We're just moments away from kick-off..
    • 19:52 Liverpool co-owner George Gillett is at the game tonight, the first time he's been at a Liverpool game since the win over Manchester United in September. Let the rumours of crucnh talks and board room showdowns commence...
    • 20:43 West Ham: Green, Neill, Collins, Upson, Ilunga, Faubert, Parker, Mullins, Behrami, Bellamy, Cole. Subs: Boa Morte, Noble, Lastuvka, Tristan, Davenport, Collison, Di Michele.
    • 20:42 Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Hyypia, Dossena, Benayoun, Gerrard, Alonso, Riera, Kuyt, Keane. Subs: Cavalieri, Agger, Babel, Mascherano, Leiva Lucas, Insua, Ngog
    • 19:39 Team news-wise, Xabi Alonso and Yossi Benayoun start in the Liverpool midfield, with Steven Gerrard an attacking midfielder behind lone striker Robbie Keane. Hayden Mullins starts in the centre of the park for the Hammers, while former Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy starts up front with Carlton Cole.
    • 19:33 Standing between them and the summit of the table are Gianfranco Zola's West Ham, who mustered their first win in eight matches at Sunderland last week. No disrespect to the struggling Black Cats, but Rafa Benitez's men should represent a tougher test.
    • 19:31 This is a big match in Liverpool's season. Win tonight and they go three points clear of Chelsea at the top of the table. Historically, Liverpool slipping out of the title race is much of a Christmas tradition as mince pies and mistletoe, but they can start December as Premier League leaders.
    • 19:30 Welcome to Eurosport-Yahoo!'s LIVE coverage of Liverpool v West Ham at Anfield!

  • Team Stats

    Liverpool Stats West Ham
    67% Possession 32%
    25 Shots 7
    6 Shots on target 2
    0 Saves 5
    17 Corners 5
    7 Fouls 5
    3 Offsides 5
    1 Yellow cards 1
    0 Red cards 0
    20 Tackles 27
    525 Accurate passes 203
    76 Bad passes 50

  • Player Stats

    G =
    Goals
    S =
    Shots
    SoT =
    Shot on Target
    F =
    Fouls
    FW =
    Fouls Won
    O =
    Offsides
    A =
    Assists
    AP =
    Accurate Passes
    BP =
    Bad Passes
    T =
    Tackles
    • Liverpool
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      25 Jose Reina 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0 0
      23 Jamie Carragher 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 64 3 2
      2 Andrea Dossena 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 47 18 1
      17 Alvaro Arbeloa 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 64 0 2
      4 Sami Hyypia 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 59 1 3
      8 Steven Gerrard 0 9 0 0 1 0 0 84 15 2
      14 Xabi Alonso 0 4 1 2 2 0 0 98 21 4
      15 Yossi Benayoun 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 34 0 3
      11 Albert Riera 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 26 12 0
      18 Dirk Kuyt 0 3 2 1 0 1 0 28 3 2
      7 Robbie Keane 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 5 2 0
      19 Ryan Babel 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
      24 David Ngog 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1
      5 Daniel Agger 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      22 Emiliano Insua 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      1 Diego Cavalieri 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      21 Lucas Leiva 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      20 Javier Mascherano 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    • West Ham
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Robert Green 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 4 0
      19 James Collins 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 0 2
      3 Hérita N'Kongolo Ilunga 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 31 10 3
      2 Lucas Neill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 0 4
      15 Matthew Upson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 6 1
      17 Hayden Mullins 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 22 3 1
      8 Scott Parker 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 31 2 5
      20 Julian Faubert 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 11 1 0
      21 Valon Behrami 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 16 8 8
      10 Craig Bellamy 0 2 1 2 2 0 0 19 10 2
      12 Carlton Cole 0 1 0 4 0 5 0 14 5 1
      24 Jan Lastuvka 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      32 David Di Michele 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      16 Mark Noble 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      31 Jack Collison 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      13 Luis Boa Morte 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
      27 Calum Davenport 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      25 Diego Tristán 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

  • Summary

    • 90+1' Babel runs across the edge of the area trying to work the shot, but he's hounded by Collins. BABEL SHOOTS... The shot hits the stanchion behind the goal! Collins's challenge got the slightest of touches, and it's a corner. What a game Collins has had.
    • 89' West Ham break forward and Parker finds Boa Morte in loads of space. Boa Morte STRIKES... Slashed wide of the target and into the crowd! You have to feel for him, he's only been on a few minutes.
    • 81' Another Liverpool corner. Gerrard swings it in and Green comes but HYYPIA IS THERE FIRST... It's goes wide of the far post as Kuyt slides in just a fracgtion too late! Nobody has had more chances to win this match than Sami Hyypia.
    • 67' West Ham have got themselves a corner. Bellamy fires it to the near post for CARLTON COLE... HEADED WIDE! Very good chance for the Hammers.
    • 57' Liverpool continue to push though, and a cross is only cleared as far as BENAYOUN... WHAT A SAVE BY GREEN!! Benayoun fair hammered it towards the top corner and Green was at full stretch to tip it over! Wonderful save!
    • 45' Benayoun loses out to Ilunga and brings the full-back down trying to regain the ball. Bellamy will take the free-kick out on the left, and cheekily tries a shot for the near post! Reina is alert though, and saves well.
    • 43' Anyway, Alonso's ball pings over to the far post and KUYT HEADS... Green stops the ball dead as he saves at the near post and grabs on to hold before Keane can dive in for the rebound!
    • 38' Hyypia starts a Liverpool attack but the move breaks down and suddenly Bellamy has space to run into. HE STRIKES FROM DISTANCE... THE SHOT CRASHES OFF THE POST!! Bellamy unleashed a bullet that had Reina sprawling as it rebounded off the frame of the goal! A real wake-up call for Liverpool.
    • 22' Ilunga gives away another corner, and Gerrard's ball is headed back across for HYYPIA.. The header is cleared off the line by Carlton Cole! Green could only watch it pass him!
    • 16' The corner comes in and it's HYYPIA WHO MEETS IT... Headed over the bar! Not for the first time, the big Finn's height is just too much for defenders to handle. He should have at least tested Green from there.
    • 14' Gerrard's cross is punched away one-handed by Green and it falls for RIERA WHO SHOOTS FIRST TIME... Collins is back guarding the goal and he blocks the shot!
    • 6' Collins mis-cues a clearance and Upson has to hack it upfield. Alonso finds Benayoun out wide and the Israeli chips in a ball that HITS ILUNGA'S ARM... NO PENALTY!! Big appeals from the crowd, but the referee was well placed and saw that Ilunga didn't know much about it.

Live Team Line-Up

  • Referee: Peter Walton

  • Liverpool

    Manager: Rafael Benitez

    Captain: Steven Gerrard

    Starting line-up

    • J. Reina
    • A. Arbeloa
    • J. Carragher
    • S. Hyypia
    • A. Dossena
    • S. Gerrard
    • X. Alonso Yellow Card
    • Y. Benayoun
    • A. Riera Substitution Out (78′)
    • D. Kuyt
    • R. Keane Substitution Out (66′)

    Subs

    • J. Mascherano
    • R. Babel Substitution In78′
    • D. Agger
    • D. N'Gog Substitution In66′
    • E. Insua
    • L. Lucas
    • D. Cavalieri

    Injured

    • F. Aurelio
    • F. Torres
    • P. Degen
    • M. Skrtel

    Suspended

    None

  • West Ham

    Manager: Gianfranco Zola

    Captain: Lucas Neill

    Starting line-up

    • R. Green
    • L. Neill
    • J. Collins
    • M. Upson
    • H. Ilunga
    • J. Faubert Substitution Out (86′)
    • S. Parker
    • H. Mullins Yellow Card
    • V. Behrami
    • C. Cole
    • C. Bellamy

    Subs

    • L. Boa Morte Substitution In86′
    • D. Di Michele
    • C. Davenport
    • J. Lastuvka
    • M. Noble
    • H. DIEGO TRISTAN
    • J. Collison

    Injured

    • K. Dyer
    • D. Gabbidon
    • D. Ashton
    • J. Spector

    Suspended

    None