BLARING out from the Anfield public address system shortly before kick-off yesterday, the now defunct band REM posed the question: “What’s the frequency, Kenneth?”
The answer the following 90 minutes gave Kenny Dalglish is that while his Liverpool team may not yet quite on the same wavelength with one another, slowly but surely they are getting there.
A fifth home draw in seven games this season would usually provoke much wailing and gnashing of teeth among the gathered Anfield throng.
Not all draws are the same, however.
And whereas there were the familiar pangs of regret at points dropped and chances missed, it would be churlish to quibble at what was eventually a stirring performance that suggests Dalglish’s men remain firmly on the right path to redemption.
In coming closer than anyone to inflicting Manchester City’s first Barclays Premier League defeat of the season, there was nevertheless a strange sense of deja vu for Liverpool yesterday; another outstanding visiting goalkeeper, another red card for Mario Balotelli, and another debatable decision from referee Martin Atkinson.
That Dalglish’s men couldn’t fully capitalise was this time not due to their profligacy but instead the form of Joe Hart, who followed David de Gea, John Ruddy and Michel Vorm in taking inspiration from the Anfield surrounds.
Indeed, Hart was beaten only by his own player, Joleon Lescott deflecting in a Charlie Adam shot just two minutes after Vincent Kompany headed City into a deserved 31st-minute lead.
From that point on, though, Liverpool grew in confidence.
City are quite rightly this season’s Premier League benchmark, and the Anfield outfit, having already downed Arsenal and Chelsea and deserved more than a point against Manchester United, were once more not found wanting.
So continues Dalglish’s impressive record against the leading clubs, with only Tottenham Hotspur of the established top six having beaten his team since the Scot returned to his spiritual home in January.
Adam’s part in Liverpool’s goal was unsurprising.
