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Manchester City and Liverpool ended a highly anticipated match (watched by a record crowd of 47,321) with a goalless draw at the City of Manchester Stadium on Sunday. The result maintained the status quo for the Big Four in the Premiere League. Liverpool are fourth and 10 points adrift of leaders Arsenal but they have one game in hand and could yet close the gap with third place Chelsea.

Man City kept their fantastic home record intact (9 victories and a draw against Blackburn). Being the surprise package in the Premiere League, they have done well to frustrate a top team intent on winning. Barring the initial forays of two missed headers, City were none too adventurous and prefer to soak up the pressure with skipper Richard Dunne holding the fort brilliantly.

Eriksson was heartened by the overall effort and paid kudos to the inspirational Dunne. He said: “I cannot be disappointed at drawing with Liverpool. We stood up to them well. Dunne was extremely good, he was everywhere. I wouldn’t want to swap Richard and Micah Richards for any defensive partnership.”

After damming assessments by owner Tom Hicks that Liverpool had an “inferiority complex,” the Reds came into this match showing their bold and creative side. Fernando Torres was a constant threat, going close twice immediately after halftime. Nevertheless, for all their chances, they were not sharp enough to breach the magnificent City defense.

The best opportunity actually fell to Dirk Kuyt in the 86th minute but his header was saved by keeper Joe Hart before being cleared off the line by Dunne. Reflecting on Liverpool’s performance, Rafael Benitez said: “It was a good effort. We knew they were playing really well at home, but we had our chances and could have won.”

Benitez also insisted the Premiere League title remains realistic this season, saying, “We are ten points behind Arsenal, but we know that we can win a lot of games. If we keep doing the right things, we will see what happens in a few months.”

The January transfer window is an oasis for Benitez who has been clamoring for new players to revitalize their flagging Premiere League title challenge. He made the best of an injury crisis by fielding Spanish full-back Alvaro Arbeloa at centre-half alongside Jamie Carragher. This uncomfortable partnership exposed their defensive frailties in the absence of Sami Hyypia and Daniel Agger.

Besides defense, the striking department is not acing the test too. Not for the first time, Liverpool showed their over reliance on Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. Their last scoring performance without a goal from either player was the 2-1 derby win at Everton on October 20. At this stage, I will venture to say that Liverpool cannot win if either names do not appear on the score sheet.

Babel, Voronin and Kuyt should be contributing more to the team’s effort. Especially Kuyt, I can’t complain about his spirit, he is a man full of running but sometimes, he needs to slow down a little and think about getting into the right positions, dealing the killer blows or acting as a holding point for his teammates to play the ball off him. That will surely be more effective than covering the entire length of the pitch.

It is unclear how much funds the owners have allocated for Benitez to spend but he shrugged off the concern by saying: “We don’t talk about money. I’m sure the club will back me if I give them a name of a player I want to buy. We can sign the right players at the right price. For now and in the future, that isn’t a problem.”

Hicks may not like brash optimism but when it comes to the crunch, I doubt if he will leave Liverpool in the lurch. Benitez will get his wishes granted but he has to understand that the usual Big Four membership is no longer good enough for the board or the fans. After spending so much money, the fans cannot bear to have another season of the Premiere League title not coming to Anfield.

As for Manchester City, they can still qualify for the Champions League but Thaksin Shinawatra will have to bankroll the club to attract talents, mainly tier-1 players who can win matches on their own. Stephen Ireland and Elano, the current inspirational sources for Man City, were subdued, and it does not bode well for the club when the opponent’s defense was barely tested.

Man City will be hunting for an accomplished forward because Darius Vassell, with only a few tricks in his bag, is not suitable as the focal point and certainly not the man to lead City into the Champions League. With a top-notch partner, it may be a different story though. That partner will not be Rolando Bianchi, the £9m Italian, who is establishing himself as one of Eriksson’s failure in the transfer market.

Most City fans have no qualms about the draw which allows them to stay ahead of the competition. Eriksson has added stability to this team and their next match against Newcastle (a team short of confidence, with a manager under increasing pressure and a player refused bail in court) should be a victory and a nice way to kick start the year.

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