Manchester City 0, Liverpool 0 (D,Post)

Apr 16 2007 by Christopher Beesley at Eastlands

THIS game was watched by 45,883 spectators – Manchester City’s highest attendance of the season and a figure Liverpool themselves will be unable to better until their new stadium is built.

But you couldn’t help but think that the action on the pitch was not always the main event as minds clearly seemed to be wandering on other things.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez continues to fervently deny that his players are not distracted ahead of their games with Chelsea and you certainly could never imagine a team containing both Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher being allowed to give anything less than 100% but human nature is such that it is impossible not to give some thoughts to such a massive impending tie.

Indeed, with Liverpool’s Champions League qualification for next season now looking nailed-on and a recent revival from Manchester City banishing any looming spectre of possible relegation there wasn’t a lot riding on this particular Premiership encounter and on the whole it showed.

From the frivolous to the deeply serious, many thoughts were elsewhere at the City of Manchester Stadium on Saturday.

On an unusually sunny weekend of the time of year which marked the first weekend of the domestic cricket season, other matters of past, present and future were never far away.

The future of course is Chelsea and a chance to put one over on Jose Mourinho’s lavishly-assembled squad to book a place in the Champions League final for the second time in two years.

While Benitez is right in saying that he’s hoping to ensure qualification for next season’s competition is achieved as soon as possible, what should be routine fixtures against the likes of City, Middlesbrough and Wigan are failing to command everyone’s attention with such a pivotal encounter awaiting.

The present on Saturday was the Grand National back in Liverpool as fans of both the red and sky blue persuasion eagerly awaited news of the placings from Aintree and with television screens installed in the City of Manchester Press Box it was clear that a few of the assembled scribes were taking more than a cursory glance on the big race as the action on the turf at Eastlands often failed to inspire.

The past was the 18th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, which fell yesterday. Liverpool’s players wore black armbands and there were several ‘Justice for the 96’ banners among the packed near-3,000 strong away section, including the newly-unveiled solidarity with Celtic FC flag.

Also in a touching gesture before the kick-off, City’s Liverpool-born midfielder Joey Barton, who was a junior player at Everton, laid a floral tribute by the touchline in front of the visiting section for those lost in 1989.

City manager Stuart Pearce named an unchanged line-up from the side that won 3-1 at Fulham on Easter Monday – a result that prompted the Cottagers to replace manager Chris Coleman with Northern Ireland coach Lawrie Sanchez.

In contrast, Benitez made five alterations from the team that defeated PSV Eindhoven 1-0 at Anfield on Wednesday as Sami Hyypia, Momo Sissoko, Bolo Zenden, Craig Bellamy and Peter Crouch made way for Steve Finnan, Jamie Carragher, Javier Mascherano, Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt. The latter was employed as a lone striker with Gerrard starting off just behind him in a roving ‘free’ role.