If Anfield was expecting more of a party, it was disappointed. West Brom turned up in dour, defensive mood and almost succeeded in suffocating their opponents. Certainly without Crouch's contribution the winning run might have come to an end, but Liverpool will take 10 straight wins whether perfect or not. The last time they managed such a feat was in 1982, when they were champions and everyone's model of consistency.
Liverpool ballboys dreading the visit of Nwankwo Kanu and his singular goal celebrations must have breathed a sigh of relief to discover the player Bryan Robson reckons can keep Albion up had been rested. Kanu probably can keep Albion up if he continues to play like he did against Spurs the other day, though to do that he needs to continue playing. An injury was mentioned, but the suspicion among Baggies fans is that their get-out-of-jail card is being saved for tomorrow's more winnable game against Aston Villa.
Fernando Morientes picked up an injury in the game against Everton, so there was a rare start for Djibril Cisse, perhaps as a reward for declaring his devotion to the club and denying all knowledge of the move to Marseille his agent brother has apparently lined up. Faced with a five-man Albion back line, Cisse might have secretly wished he could go back to appearing as a second-half substitute, though it soon became clear the visitors' defensive screen was about as effective as a chocolate fireguard.
Surrendering the midfield at Anfield to a Liverpool side containing Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso is asking for trouble and to make the tactic work Albion really needed to field five goalkeepers, although the one they did bring was in top form. By the mid-point of the first half Tomasz Kuszczak had already made three top-class saves from Harry Kewell and seen a John Arne Riise shot rebound from a post. "That must be one of the best games he's had in his life," Benitez observed. "I thought at one point it was almost impossible to score, though at least we kept creating chances."
Liverpool's midfielders did create chances. For all the patience and precision of the approach work, their strikers failed to provide a cutting edge, which was the main reason the game went so long without a goal. Cisse and Crouch were too often static targets, waiting in vain for the ball and rarely managing to find space or link with each other. It was significant that Kuszczak's next important save, after 35 minutes, was from another midfielder, Gerrard supplying a thunderous shot after Alonso had rolled the ball his way. The best Crouch and Cisse could come up with between them was a weak header from the former into Kuszczak's arms, but even that was more of a goal threat than West Brom ever managed.
Mercifully, this phoney war continued for only another seven minutes after the restart and happily it was Crouch who put an end to speculation that he cannot produce headers of any conviction. Any centre- forward would have been proud of the way he dispatched Kewell's cross from the left in the 52nd minute, using his height to reach the ball ahead of Neil Clement and Steve Watson and showing technique in beating Kuszczak from around the penalty spot. "He was playing well before. Now he is playing with confidence and scoring goals," Benitez said.
Even with West Brom's game plan out the window, the floodgates did not open. Gerrard found the roof of the net with a shot that took a significant deflection off Curtis Davies, Riise forced another save from Kuszczak with a fulminating drive from a free-kick, then Alonso hit the side-netting after Gerrard was tripped on the edge of the area.
Twenty minutes from the end, the script took a surprising turn - Kewell left the field to something approaching a standing ovation. In fairness he had played well, providing most of the goal threats in the first half and supplying the cross for Crouch's goal, but the Liverpool crowd must be suffering from an excess of seasonal sentimentality. Kewell was only playing against ambition-free West Brom. Goodness knows what raptures Anfield might go into were Kewell ever to turn in a virtuoso match-winning performance in the Champions League.
Crouch and Gerrard brought further saves from Kuszczak before the end and the latter flashed a shot narrowly wide in the final minute. A 1-0 result suited everyone, especially two teams with greater challenges ahead and another game tomorrow. "We nearly got something. It took a terrific goal to beat us," Robson said. "I think that's the most Tomasz has had to do in a game. You can see why Chris Kirkland is finding it hard to reclaim his place. I'm delighted to have two goalkeepers of such quality. I just wish they didn't have to make as many saves."