Blackburn Rovers had won their previous seven games and were never going to roll over. They defended well and Liverpool did not have the flair and creativity to break them down, despite dominating the midfield and having the lion's share of possession.
Mark Hughes' men actually had the two best chances of the first half. David Bentley had a halfhearted shot shave Pepe Reina's left hand post, while David Dunn struck the crossbar with the Liverpool keeper beaten. Ryan Babel had Liverpool's only real chance of the half, but Brad Friedel saved well to deny the Dutchman.
The second half started the same, with the few chances Liverpool had wasted by Dirk Kuyt. It was only when Steven Gerrard decided to get a grip of the game did Liverpool look like they could score, but it was not to be.
Man of the match was probably Harry Kewell, for managing to remain uninjured for the 27 minutes he was on the field.
