Liverpool reached the last 16 of the Champions League

23 Nov 2005 Champions League Group Stage - Liverpool 0-0 Real Betis

Alonso and Garcia both failed to recover from injuries, thus Sissoko joined the midfield with Gerrard, Hamann and Zenden. Strikers Crouch and Morientes were in the starting 11, along with Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, and Riise at the back, while Cisse was droped.

Liverpool dominated and were obviously the more threatening side, creating 28 shots on goal. Gerrard created most of the chances for strikers with his dominant force in midfield, but were wasted as Betis held on for a point from the Anfield. Crouch made efforts to hit his first Liverpool goal, but again struggled to seize the opportunity. However, he's not the only one as Morientes also missed some good chances throughout the match.

Despite the draw, holder Liverpool remained top of Group G and advanced to the knockout stage, being a point ahead of Chelsea, who won 2-0 over Anderlecht and was qualified as well.


Match reactions:

Crouch: "It was a bit frustrating tonight because I had some chances but that's the way things are going for me at the moment. I'm not going to hide though. I'm sure I'll score soon and then when I do a load more will follow."

Carragher: "He(Crouch) was our best player against Portsmouth at the weekend and was one of our best players tonight. He gives us a lot of options. I know he wants to score and we're all desperate for him to score but the important thing is his performance levels have been good."

Benitez said: "It would be a good thing for us to top the group but the most important thing is to enjoy this result and prepare the players for the next game."
"For me Crouch is playing very well and I am delighted with him. I am not worried about him not scoring yet and he will score soon."

To know other results, view Match Day 5 (Wed.) / Final Scores in the Champions League Forum. And also an interesting discussion about Crouch not scoring for a long time: Liverpool Goal Too Small in the Barclays Premiership Forum.