Liverpool against Chelsea

Midfield mayhem.

Desailly goes to make a clearence and collapses in a heap clutching his knee. He is back on his feet soon enough though.

Cudicini takes his time over a goal kick. Chelsea seem happy with a point.

Lampard breaks up a Reds attack. He hits a long ball forward for Gudjohnsen but the striker had turned to receive the short ball.

Zola goes down with cramp and Liverpool 'keeper Dudek comes out of goal to help him to his feet.

Zola collects the ball from Le Saux on the left. The striker tries a one-two with Gudjohnsen and Hyypia cuts out the looping return pass.

....Baros shoots over the bar from a tight angle. He should have done much better.

Baros drives forward. He nutmegs Desailly on the edge of the box and has only the keeper to beat.....

Le Saux takes it and Carragher clears with a strong defensive header.

Gronkjaer is brushed off the ball by Heskey and the ref blows for a freekick. Chance for a set piece.

Gudjohnsen rides two challenges and lays the ball off to Zola. His return ball is cut out by Gerrard on the edge of the box.

Zola uses a Gudjohnsen run as a decoy and blasts a long range strike over the ber.

The game could be coming to life in the last 15 minutes.

Zola joins in on the right, Gudjohnsen hits a low ball across the face of goal but Lampard can't reach it.

Lampard breaks but has no support and has to hold up play to wait for his team mates.

Liverpool make a change. In-form Baros is on for Cheyrou.

Gerrard finds Murphy in midfield. The England international plays a diagonal ball for Riise to chase and Gronkjaer guides the ball out for a goalkick.

.....Gudjohnsen finds himself with space to shoot and hits a 25-yard strike well wide of the post.

Melchiot makes a great tackle on Gerrard and breaks with the ball......

The Anfield crowd has found its voice and are urging their side forward.

Another long ball is pumped forward for Owen to chase and Gallas just watches it run out for a goalkick.

Gudjohnsen takes on Hamann but the German stands firm and comes away with the ball for Liverpool.

Zola's turn to cross now. Dudek comes off his line to pluck the ball out of the air.

Ranieri looks at his player in disbelief.

Zola finds Gronkjaer who shapes to cross. You guessed it, it was awful.

....The Italian just doesn't have the pace at 36-years-old and Dudek rushes out to claim the ball.

Lampard dissects the Liverpool defence with an excellent ball and Zola is chasing it into the box.....

Chelsea are enjoying a good spell.

Gronkjaer attacks down the right, he beats two players but his cross is cut out at the near post.

Owen chips the ball over the Chelsea defence for Heskey to chase. Gallas steps up and Heskey is offside.

Some head-tennis in the midfield ends with a Liverpool throw.

Le Saux combines with Gudjohnsen on the left but plays the ball too far ahead of himself and Liverpool regain possession.

....Cudicini tips Gerrard's dipping shot onto the crossbar. An excellent shot from the England midfielder.

...Hamann hits it into the wall and the ricochet drops to Gerrard.....

The Reds have a freekick 33-yards out, with Hamann and Riise both waiting to strike......

Liverpool are applying some early pressure.

The ball bounces free to Cheryou on the right of the box. Le Saux throws himself at the ball and blocks the shot.

Heskey whips a ball in from the right. Owen controls it with his back to goal and Chelsea see off the danger.

A long ball over the top finds Owen bearing down on goal. The ball bounces off his leg and the chance goes begging.

Carragher plays the ball powerfully forward to Murphy who seems to knocked over by it.

Morris replaces Stanic and Gudjohnsen replaces Hasselbaink as the game gets underway.

Ranieri makes his two characteristic changes for the second-half.

Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri might be happy with a draw at Anfield but his side has offered some glimpses of genius in attack through Zola.

Liverpool pushed forward in the latter stages of the half and manager Gerard Houllier will surely be asking for more of the same.

That's the last action of the 45 minutes as the ref blows for half-time.

Gerrard gets in a cross from the right and Melchiot does well to prevent Owen and Cheyrou getting to the ball.

Chelsea push forward looking to strike before the break but Gerrard launches a counter attack.

Owen pressures Gallas. The defender passes the ball back to Cudicini and the crowd beg him to do 'an Enckleman'.

Some scrappy football in the midfield.

Liverpool seem to have soaked up the early pressure and are on top of the game.

The first shot on target and it's a 35-yard brace from a central defender.

The ball drops to Hyypia, who fires it right back at Cudicini's goal and the keepr has to palm the fierce shot over his bar.

...Gallas makes an excellent clearing header.

Gerrard pulls Desailly out wide and delivers a cross for Heskey.....

Gronkjaer tackles Riise and charges down the wing. Hasselbaink waits in the middle but the cross hits Hyypia.

I'm struggling to contain my excitement watching this game.

Gronkjaer gets a chance to cross from the right. The Dane is back to his old tricks and the ball sails miles over everybody.

Zola spins and chinks past Henchoz and Hyypia - despite being fouled - and lays the ball off to Hasselbaink who shows poor control.

Lampard holds off two players on the touchline and sweeps the ball in field to Zola. The little man's touch deserts him and the ball pings to Riise.

Zola pulls off a cheeky spin in midfield. Hasselbaink is not on the same wave length and Hyypia mops up.

Murphy delivers a corner from the left and Riise directs his header just wide of the back post.

.....Le Saux bears down on Riise and blocks the defender's shot.

Riise stands over a long range freekick. Hamann rolls the ball to him to strike.....

Looks like the Reds have got the taste for attack now as Cudicini races off his line and beats Owen to the ball.

Carragher charges down the right now but his cross drifts staright out of play - nobody was in the box anyway.

That finally gave the crowd something to shout about.

...Melchiot makes an important header at the near post to avert danger.

Owen has a chance to get a cross in from the right. He gets past two players and whips the ball into the box.....

Stanic picks up a yellow card as he prevents Liverpool from mounting anything that could be described as an attack.

Heskey flicks the ball on from a throw and Gallas wins a foot race with Owen (so he is playing) to hook the ball clear.

Stanic combines with Le Saux down the right, but the defender's cross is a poor one and Liverpool clear.

Liverpool seem happy to pass the ball around in their own half until Heskey fouls Le Saux. Now its Chelsea's turn to pass the ball around in Liverpool's half.

Chelsea are asking all the questions at the moment.

......He stoops and directs a free header round the post. He should have done better with that.

Gronkjaer with another foray down the right. He finally delivers a good cross and Lampard is in the box......

....The defender hits a rasping shot that dips just over the bar.

Le Saux, back from injury at last, takes it and Hyypia heads clear as far as Gallas.......

Gronkjaer wins a corner off Riise and a chance for another Chelsea set piece.

......Zola curls it over the wall, over the bar and into the Anfield crowd to cheers of delight.

Zola and Hasselbaink stand over a freekick 30-yards out.......

Gronkjaer, who has wasted possession so far, finds Lampard on the right - who promptly loses the ball.

Heskey bears down on goal......the flag is up for offside.

Cheyrou collects the ball from his back four and finds Heskey with a long ball.

Riise takes a long throw. Stanic acrobatically flicks the ball clear.

Hasselbaink gets in behind Hyypia but the big finnish defender hussles him out the box and the danger passes.

Zola takes control on the left. The Italian tries to find Hasselbaink in the box but Hyypia calmly cuts out the pass.

Lampard is caught by Bruno 'white boots' Cheyrou but the ref sees nothing wrong - probably blinded by the glare.

Hamann looks for a ball down the line, but it spoons off his right foot and loops out for a Chelsea throw.

Some early flying tackles in the right corner of Chelsea's half reult in a freekick.

Liverpool get the game underway and will be looking to keep the pressure on league leaders Arsenal.

The teams are out on the Anfield pitch, the crowd are chanting and we all await the referee's whistle to get the game underway.

Chelsea need to put their blues behind them with a positive result at Liverpool. The Reds meanwhile are on a long unbeaten run and back in form after that crushing of Spartak Moscow in midweek. Join us at 16.05 BST.

Liverpool make a change. In-form Baros is on for Cheyrou.

Gerrard finds Murphy in midfield. The England international plays a diagonal ball for Riise to chase and Gronkjaer guides the ball out for a goalkick.

.....Gudjohnsen finds himself with space to shoot and hits a 25-yard strike well wide of the post.

Melchiot makes a great tackle on Gerrard and breaks with the ball......

The Anfield crowd has found its voice and are urging their side forward.

Another long ball is pumped forward for Owen to chase and Gallas just watches it run out for a goalkick.

Gudjohnsen takes on Hamann but the German stands firm and comes away with the ball for Liverpool.

Zola's turn to cross now. Dudek comes off his line to pluck the ball out of the air.

Ranieri looks at his player in disbelief.

Zola finds Gronkjaer who shapes to cross. You guessed it, it was awful.

....The Italian just doesn't have the pace at 36-years-old and Dudek rushes out to claim the ball.

Lampard dissects the Liverpool defence with an excellent ball and Zola is chasing it into the box.....

Chelsea are enjoying a good spell.

Gronkjaer attacks down the right, he beats two players but his cross is cut out at the near post.

Owen chips the ball over the Chelsea defence for Heskey to chase. Gallas steps up and Heskey is offside.

Some head-tennis in the midfield ends with a Liverpool throw.

Le Saux combines with Gudjohnsen on the left but plays the ball too far ahead of himself and Liverpool regain possession.

....Cudicini tips Gerrard's dipping shot onto the crossbar. An excellent shot from the England midfielder.

...Hamann hits it into the wall and the ricochet drops to Gerrard.....

The Reds have a freekick 33-yards out, with Hamann and Riise both waiting to strike......

Liverpool are applying some early pressure.

The ball bounces free to Cheryou on the right of the box. Le Saux throws himself at the ball and blocks the shot.

Heskey whips a ball in from the right. Owen controls it with his back to goal and Chelsea see off the danger.

A long ball over the top finds Owen bearing down on goal. The ball bounces off his leg and the chance goes begging.

Carragher plays the ball powerfully forward to Murphy who seems to knocked over by it.

Morris replaces Stanic and Gudjohnsen replaces Hasselbaink as the game gets underway.

Ranieri makes his two characteristic changes for the second-half.

Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri might be happy with a draw at Anfield but his side has offered some glimpses of genius in attack through Zola.

Liverpool pushed forward in the latter stages of the half and manager Gerard Houllier will surely be asking for more of the same.

That's the last action of the 45 minutes as the ref blows for half-time.

Gerrard gets in a cross from the right and Melchiot does well to prevent Owen and Cheyrou getting to the ball.

Chelsea push forward looking to strike before the break but Gerrard launches a counter attack.

Owen pressures Gallas. The defender passes the ball back to Cudicini and the crowd beg him to do 'an Enckleman'.

Some scrappy football in the midfield.

Liverpool seem to have soaked up the early pressure and are on top of the game.

The first shot on target and it's a 35-yard brace from a central defender.

The ball drops to Hyypia, who fires it right back at Cudicini's goal and the keepr has to palm the fierce shot over his bar.

...Gallas makes an excellent clearing header.

Gerrard pulls Desailly out wide and delivers a cross for Heskey.....

Gronkjaer tackles Riise and charges down the wing. Hasselbaink waits in the middle but the cross hits Hyypia.

I'm struggling to contain my excitement watching this game.

Gronkjaer gets a chance to cross from the right. The Dane is back to his old tricks and the ball sails miles over everybody.

Zola spins and chinks past Henchoz and Hyypia - despite being fouled - and lays the ball off to Hasselbaink who shows poor control.

Lampard holds off two players on the touchline and sweeps the ball in field to Zola. The little man's touch deserts him and the ball pings to Riise.

Zola pulls off a cheeky spin in midfield. Hasselbaink is not on the same wave length and Hyypia mops up.

Murphy delivers a corner from the left and Riise directs his header just wide of the back post.

.....Le Saux bears down on Riise and blocks the defender's shot.

Riise stands over a long range freekick. Hamann rolls the ball to him to strike.....

Looks like the Reds have got the taste for attack now as Cudicini races off his line and beats Owen to the ball.

Carragher charges down the right now but his cross drifts staright out of play - nobody was in the box anyway.

That finally gave the crowd something to shout about.

...Melchiot makes an important header at the near post to avert danger.

Owen has a chance to get a cross in from the right. He gets past two players and whips the ball into the box.....

Stanic picks up a yellow card as he prevents Liverpool from mounting anything that could be described as an attack.

Heskey flicks the ball on from a throw and Gallas wins a foot race with Owen (so he is playing) to hook the ball clear.

Stanic combines with Le Saux down the right, but the defender's cross is a poor one and Liverpool clear.

Liverpool seem happy to pass the ball around in their own half until Heskey fouls Le Saux. Now its Chelsea's turn to pass the ball around in Liverpool's half.

Chelsea are asking all the questions at the moment.

......He stoops and directs a free header round the post. He should have done better with that.

Gronkjaer with another foray down the right. He finally delivers a good cross and Lampard is in the box......

....The defender hits a rasping shot that dips just over the bar.

Le Saux, back from injury at last, takes it and Hyypia heads clear as far as Gallas.......

Gronkjaer wins a corner off Riise and a chance for another Chelsea set piece.

......Zola curls it over the wall, over the bar and into the Anfield crowd to cheers of delight.

Zola and Hasselbaink stand over a freekick 30-yards out.......

Gronkjaer, who has wasted possession so far, finds Lampard on the right - who promptly loses the ball.

Heskey bears down on goal......the flag is up for offside.

Cheyrou collects the ball from his back four and finds Heskey with a long ball.

Riise takes a long throw. Stanic acrobatically flicks the ball clear.

Hasselbaink gets in behind Hyypia but the big finnish defender hussles him out the box and the danger passes.

Zola takes control on the left. The Italian tries to find Hasselbaink in the box but Hyypia calmly cuts out the pass.

Lampard is caught by Bruno 'white boots' Cheyrou but the ref sees nothing wrong - probably blinded by the glare.

Hamann looks for a ball down the line, but it spoons off his right foot and loops out for a Chelsea throw.

Some early flying tackles in the right corner of Chelsea's half reult in a freekick.

Liverpool get the game underway and will be looking to keep the pressure on league leaders Arsenal.

The teams are out on the Anfield pitch, the crowd are chanting and we all await the referee's whistle to get the game underway.

Chelsea need to put their blues behind them with a positive result at Liverpool. The Reds meanwhile are on a long unbeaten run and back in form after that crushing of Spartak Moscow in midweek. Join us at 16.05 BST.