The trouble is, whereas 0-0 can be a golden result in Europe, it is not worth a row of beans in a Premiership where victories mean everything. Aware that he desperately needed a first triumph on the road after seven months of driving into blind alleys, Rafael Benitez used just about every attacking formation open to him, trying captain Steven Gerrard on both wings, Djibril Cisse inside and on the right, and looking to turn Peter Crouch, the non-scoring centre forward, into a super sub.
In sheer desperation 14 minutes from time, he even threw on Harry Kewell, the striker with two pony tails - a fitting hair-style for the biggest show-pony in the country. Within minutes of his arrival, he had managed to give away a free-kick by handling the ball and then lost his boot when attempting a mazy run.
It all seemed destined to end in frustration again until referee Steve Bennett, as bored as the rest of us, took matters into his own hands by pointing to the spot after Liam Ridgewell brought down Crouch six minutes from time. Even then, Liverpool did not seem too keen to take the gift, Crouch at first picking up the ball but then thinking better of it, perhaps remembering the words of his former manager at Southampton, Harry Redknapp, before he took one for the Saints against Portsmouth in an FA Cup tie. "What's Crouch doing with the ball?" said Redknapp. "He can't take a penalty."
Crouch scored that day but he and his Liverpool team-mates all stood back to wait for Gerrard, who stroked the ball into the net before running off to salute the fans and suck the badge of his shirt.
The Aston Villa manager, David O'Leary, was left fuming on the touchline and, as he awaits his personal disciplinary hearing for running on to the pitch after his team's 1-0 derby win over Birmingham last month, he can expect another letter from the Football Association about his view of events here. "I've got to be careful what I say about the officials because these are very precious people," he said. "But that was a terrible, terrible decision. The referee was quick to make decisions all game, especially to Liverpool and to name players. Everything is going against us at the moment, though I am not trying to make excuses."
This was O'Leary's 100th match in charge of Villa and, after five defeats in six matches, it must feel more like 100 years. The man who does not like making excuses has even suggested that talk of a takeover bid from Irish firm Comer Homes has unsettled his squad, though it is their own home form that should be troubling them most. It took the arrival of Juan Pablo Angel as a second-half substitute to spark some life into Villa before their biggest home crowd of the season, 42,551, who were sleepy enough after their early start before being offered so-called entertainment that was the equivalent of counting sheep. Angel twice forced goalkeeper Jose Reina into awkward saves with his knees and was just a trifle too casual when trying to flick James Milner's pass into the path of former Liverpool striker Milan Baros. But the substitute who made the difference was Crouch, also playing against his former club and who, on his first warm-up run down the touchline, was affectionately greeted by Villa fans with a chorus of: "There's only one Rodney Trotter."
Sadly, from Liverpool's point of view, at first he lived up to the plonker nickname when heading a superb Boudewijn Zenden cross straight into the arms of Thomas Sorensen. But he showed why he is so popular with Benitez and the England manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson, with a cut-back from the byline that allowed Gerrard to sting Sorensen's fingers. The penalty followed soon after and as the game entered its final minute, Crouch failed to connect with two crosses before Olof Mellberg knocked it out to Xabi Alonso, who put Villa, if not O'Leary, out of their misery.
Significantly, two of the most entertaining moments of the match were provided by a defender, man of the match Jamie Carragher, who twice brilliantly intercepted through balls intended for Fernando Morientes. It is the prospect of goals, however, that drags supporters out of their beds at some ungodly hour on a Saturday to travel across the country to watch their team. But Benitez is still obsessed with defence, boasting that keeping a clean sheet for a seventh time has bettered their record in that department for the whole of last season. The problem is that, in four of their 10 Premiership games, Liverpool have not scored either, which is why they are still 15 points behind leaders Chelsea, albeit it with a game in hand.