Player Ratings: Stoke City 0-0 Liverpool

STOKE CITY

Sorensen: 6.5 - A comfortable first half and he will be amazed about how little he had to do in the second.

Wilkinson: 6.5 - Coped well with Riera and had a decent game. One poor challenge on Babel which almost saw Gerrard score from the free kick was his only poor moment.

Abdoulaye Faye: 7.0 - Made some vital blocks, particularly when he threw himself in front of Gerrard’s shot.

Shawcross: 6.5 - Caused problems in the Liverpool box, particularly in the air, and looked strong at the back.

Higginbotham: 6.5 - The left-back looked comfortable defensively and was excellent in possession.

Delap: 7.0 - Should have scored but rattled the bar early on. His infamous long throws troubled Liverpool and he was a thorn in their side all night long.

Amdy Faye: 7.0 - Gave Benayoun no space and was quick into the tackle.

Whelan: 6.5 - A late replacement for Diao and was solid if unspectacular. Curled a brilliant effort just over with ten minutes to go and provided some decent delivery.

Etherington: 7.0 – A good debut from the new signing from West Ham. Looked hungry, happy to run with the ball, and gives Stoke an extra attacking option.

Cresswell: 6.5 - Looked odds on to score with a back post header but was denied by Carragher, still a nuisance for the Liverpool defence.

Kitson: 6.5 – Had two great chances in the second half and went closest with a flicked header but couldn’t convert. Still, Stoke will be glad to see him back from injury.

Substitutes

Lawrence: 6.0 - Replaced Etherington late on and wasted a decent opportunity with a poor cross.

Pugh: n/a

LIVERPOOL

Reina: 5.5 - Looked uncomfortable all night, particularly coming off his line, and a poor kick almost allowed Kitson in to score.

Carragher: 6.5 – Decent shift at right-back, and a brilliant header to deny Shawcross an easy header at the back post.

Hyypia: 6.5 – The occasional shaky moment at the back but made some vital clearances and looked strong in the air.

Skrtel: 6.5 – A decent display on his first appearance since October after injury. Cleared the ball well and Benitez will be glad to have him back.

Aurelio: 6.0 – Replaced Insua, who had looked the part in recent weeks, and did OK.

Benayoun: 5.5 – Contributed very little other than a few neat touches.

Lucas: 5.0 – A poor performance that ensured Xabi Alonso was sorely missed. Looks short of confidence and  wasted a glorious opportunity by heading back across goal rather than at it.

Mascherano: 6.0 – Will have wanted to impress under the watchful eye of Diego Maradona, but simply grew increasingly frustrated as the game wore on.

Riera: 6.0 – A couple of decent deliveries but that was about the sum total of his efforts before he was subbed, again.

Gerrard: 6.5 - A quiet game and far from his best, the skipper even picked up a silly booking for taking a free-kick too quickly. Yet despite this, he was unlucky to hit the post in the closing minutes, a miss that could yet prove crucial.

Kuyt: 6.0 -  Put a header just wide after only 10 minutes, but after that offered very little going forwards.

Substitutes

Torres: 6.0 - Given half-an-hour but didn’t have a sight of goal and in truth, barely had a kick. A flicked header set up Gerrard late on but his shot hit the post.

Babel: 6.0 -  Introduced too late, you feel; had one great run, crudely interrupted by Wilkinson.

Gill Clark, Goal.com