Rafa refuses to commit after dull Liverpool show

Wolves 0 Liverpool 0. There were no goals and not much inspiration as the Reds were held to a goalless draw by Wolves on a night when even Steve Gerrard was made to look ordinary. Molineux has never been a happy hunting ground for Liverpool – it's 31 years since they last won at Wolves – and all they could muster on this occasion was a single shot on target.

"I think the corner has been turned," a bullish Gerrard claimed afterwards, when in reality Liverpool struggled to even win a corner against a side lying 17th in the league and with one of the worst defensive records around.

Gerrard was clearly off the pace after two weeks out with a hamstring injury, while winger Albert Riera, also coming back from a spell on the treatment table, looked less than sharp. Throw in the fact that Argentine Maxi Rodriguez was making his full debut on the right flank having signed earlier in the month from Atletico Madrid, and perhaps it wasn't surprising that Liverpool lacked invention.
 
Wolves were no more threatening in front of goal than their visitors and never really looked like adding to their season's tally of 17 goals in 21 outings – the lowest strike rate in the Premier League. Perhaps the only admirable aspect of the match was the stamina of the 28,700 crowd, the bulk of whom braved the cold in the hope of seeing a goal, or at the very least, some entertainment.

But there was little to cheer throughout a colourless 90 minutes as the Wolves defence of Michael Mancienne, Jody Craddock and Christophe Berra coped comfortably with the few sporadic Liverpool attacks.

Yet the best chance of the first half fell to Wolves when Matt Jarvis skipped past Jamie Carragher on the left and crossed, only for Kevin Doyle to send his shot wide. December 20 was the last time Wolves scored a league goal and with Doyle around it might be another month before the drought ends.
 
Liverpool's solitary strike on goal came shortly after the interval with a sweet volley from Riera on the edge of the  box that Marcus Hahnemann did well to stop. And that was the extent of Hahnemann's work on a night when not even the introduction of the normally effervescent David Ngog could bring Liverpool to life.

With Tottenham defeating Fulham 2-0 to consolidate their fourth position, Liverpool lie fifth, ten points behind third-placed Chelsea but having played two more games. "The group's been through a difficult phase," Gerrard admitted afterwards. "Confidence has been affected."

Meanwhile his manager Rafael Benitez, asked about reports of an approach by Juventus, refused to discuss the rumour. As it emerged that the Italian club are drawing up an official contract document in an attempt to prove the seriousness of their interest, he declined the opportunity to commit his future to Liverpool. ·