Aston Villa and Liverpool play out a boring deadlock in a defence-dominated encounter at Villa Park. However, Villa, were left feeling sore at referee Lee Mason’s refusal to give a penalty when Stilian Petrov had his heel clipped in the box.

In a game where clear-cut chances of scoring goal were very few, Liverpool Robbie Fowler saw a header saved by Thomas Sorensen late on. Ahead of crucial England’s Euro 2008 qualifiers, Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard limped out of the action.

Earlier, as Villa’s back line squeezed up to compress the space and constrict the life out of Liverpool’s passing game, the Liverpool team decided to go over the top and use Craig Bellamy’s pace. In addition, Daniel Agger’s lump forward was a legitimate tactic as Bellamy outpaced Phil Bardsley but goalkeeper Sorensen was alert to the danger and his starting position enabled him to sprint out and take the ball off the Welsh striker’s toes.

Via: Independent