PA
Liverpool and Chelsea played out a 1-1 draw which suggested the Barclays Premier League season could be a war of attrition right to the end.
Empics
Fernando Torres slips the ball past Petr Cech for the first goal.
The two clubs have played each other 16 times in three seasons and familiarity clearly breeds contempt with nine bookings and Hampshire referee Rob Styles coming in for flak from both sets of players as he fought to maintain order.
Fernando Torres' excellent first goal for Liverpool was all but forgotten as the yellow cards were waved, five for Chelsea and four for Liverpool. Captains Steven Gerrard and John Terry were among the bookings.
• Benitez laments 'unbelievable' decision
Chelsea battled away after going behind and were rewarded with a controversial penalty that Frank Lampard drove past Jose Reina.
Steve Finnan was adjudged to have brought down Florent Malouda, but the incident looked more like the Frenchman jumping between Finnan and Jamie Carragher before crashing to the ground.
The incident set the tone for the rest of a fractious match in which Styles almost lost control. In the latter stages he appeared to book Michael Essien for a second time without sending off the Ghanaian only for the fourth official reveal the booking had been issued to Terry.
Broken toe or not, Gerrard was there to skipper Liverpool against a Chelsea side who had their own captain Terry back from injury.
It was never a cordial meeting between international skipper and his deputy, the pair involved in frequent verbal exchanges during an increasingly feisty clash.
Chelsea included Essien in their defence, who was pressed into service despite a groin injury because Jose Mourinho was without defenders Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira.
Chelsea used Essien at right-back and John Obi Mikel as a holding midfielder, with Salomon Kalou trying to push on from midfield to aid Didier Drogba.
Malouda, who chose Chelsea ahead of Liverpool when he moved from Lyon in the summer, and Shaun Wright-Phillips were also quick to attack in a brave Mourinho system.
Liverpool went for a straight-forward 4-4-2 with Riise keen to exploit any unfamiliarity to right-back from Essien.
And the threat was demonstrated when Riise appeared in yards of space to take a Steve Finnan cross-field ball only for Petr Cech to come flying off his line to avert the danger.
Essien was booked for sending Alvaro Arbeloa flying on the touchline, then Chelsea's vulnerability on their right flank saw them a goal behind on 16 minutes.
Gerrard played the ball with the outside of his right foot, finding Torres heading into the area.
The Spain international took on Tal Ben-Haim, leaving the ex-Bolton man in just a couple of yards before squeezing a clever side-foot shot just inside Cech's far post.
Anfield went wild and the £20million man was an instant hero as he was mobbed by his delirious colleagues.
Chelsea responded with a Drogba free-kick that was deflected wide and Kalou saw a six-yard box chance disappear as he failed to shoot quickly.
Gerrard mopped up with a ferocious challenge on Drogba to clear.
The match got more heated and Dirk Kuyt was booked for a trip on Lampard.
The atmosphere deteriorated further after Chelsea complaints to referee Rob Styles over challenges on Malouda and Terry, the latter involved in an exchange of words with the perpetrator, Torres.
Pennant was then booked for dissent after being penalised for a foul.
Gerrard was next into the book for a foul on Mikel, the half ending with Torres limping away after a heavy challenge and plenty of exchanges between England colleagues on both sides.
Chelsea brought on Claudio Pizarro for Kalou at the break, to provide better support for Drogba. And the Peruvian made an instant impact.
First he nodded on a Lampard corner for Terry to head just over, and then he stretched at the far post to head wide himself.
Much of Liverpool's play in the opening half was geared to containment, but they were more adventurous attacking the Kop end and Gerrard and Xabi Alonso both saw chances go wide while a Riise free-kick was charged down.
But on 61 minutes, Chelsea were level from the penalty spot. It was a controversial decision by referee Styles to penalise Steve Finnan for a challenge on Malouda.
It looked as if Malouda had jumped between Finnan and Carragher before tumbling and Carragher was booked for arguing before Lampard drove the spot-kick home.
The bookings continued and Ben-Haim's for dissent soon after was the third caution in four minutes.
On 67 minutes, Ryan Babel replaced Pennant, who had just set up Riise for a power drive just wide.
Lampard was soon booked for dissent, with Terry following, Chelsea fuming at what they perceived as a Torres dive looking for a free-kick.
There was more argument involving Essien before the free-kick went Liverpool's way. The Ghanian appeared to be booked for a second time but Styles later confirmed that only Terry had been yellow-carded.
What was certain was that the game had deteriorated into a nasty, spiteful battle.
Cech did well to keep out a close-range Riise effort as Liverpool pressed again. Crouch taking over from Riise with seven minutes left.
Kuyt's flicked header just cleared the bar before Alex came on for his Chelsea debut in place of Malouda.
Chelsea were now intent on the point, which they achieved after Babel skimmed a late effort inches wide.
• Benitez laments 'unbelievable' decision
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard accused referee Rob Styles of cracking under pressure from Chelsea players when he awarded a highly-controversial penalty which saw the visitors earn a draw at Anfield.
Fernando Torres netted with a fine side-footed effort after just 16 minutes, and Liverpool looked to be on course to repeat last season's league victory over the then-champions at Anfield.
But in the second period Frank Lampard belted home a penalty, controversially given for a challenge by Steve Finnan on Florent Malouda.
Asked if his side deserved to win, Gerrard said: 'I think so. I think a very, very unfair decision has got Chelsea a point today. But I think we proved today we are capable of challenging.
'I felt the referee didn't play well today. There was a lot of pressure from the Chelsea players and I thought he eventually cracked.'
Asked about his slim chances of overcoming a broken toe to play in England's friendly against Germany on Wednesday, Gerrard said: 'I looked fit today because I had a painkilling injection to play. I need to rest to be ready for the England qualifiers.
'I've spoken to Steve McClaren a couple of times and I'll speak to him tomorrow I suppose.
'The sensible thing is to make sure you are ready for big games.
'If the x-ray tomorrow shows the crack has healed, I'll be playing for England. But I can't see it because three days ago I had an x-ray and I'd broken a toe.'An irate Rafael Benitez described Styles' decision as 'unbelievable'. 'I think it was a mistake.
'Unbelievable. How can you change a game like this?'
Asked if he challenged Styles about the decision after the match, the Spaniard said: 'No. It is clear, he can watch the video. He may understand why we are so disappointed. Unbelievable.'
Benitez took positives from his side's performance, however.
'We had some chances against a very good team. The game was under control but this kind of decision, you cannot explain.
'Maybe he was under pressure all the time. I prefer not to say too much.'
Benitez's Chelsea counterpart Jose Mourinho insisted Styles had 'a positive game'.
However, the Portuguese reserved judgement on the penalty decision in his side's favour. He said: 'I don't know. But so many times you are unfortunate, especially in this stadium with referees' decisions, I don't know. I think it is a difficult game for referees.
'Not every player on the pitch was trying to help the referee. A couple of them, maybe because of their different culture, didn't help the referee. But two big teams at Anfield is not easy.
'Overall Mr Styles had a positive game.'
Mourinho talked of his adventurous team selection and formation but admitted he was happy to play for a point in the last five minutes.
'I think it is difficult to play here because they are a good team and it is a positive result for us, especially because we were losing.'
Match Stats
Liverpool Chelsea
Shots (on Goal) 19(8) 8(2)
Fouls 11 16
Corner Kicks 5 2
Offsides 3 1
Time of Possession 56% 44%
Yellow Cards 4 5
Red Cards 0 0
Saves 0 5
Teams
Liverpool Chelsea
25 Jose Reina Petr Cech 1
5 Daniel Agger Tal Ben-Haim 22
17 Alvaro Arbeloa Ashley Cole 3
23 Jamie Carragher John Terry 26
3 Steve Finnan Michael Essien 5
14 Xabi Alonso Frank Lampard 8
8 Steven Gerrard Florent Malouda 15
16 Jermaine Pennant Mikel John Obi 12
6 John Arne Riise Shaun Wright-Phillips 24
18 Dirk Kuyt Didier Drogba 11
9 Fernando Torres Salomon Kalou 21
Substitutes
30 Charles Itandje Carlo Cudicini 23
4 Sami Hyypia Alex 33
20 Javier Mascherano Joe Cole 10
19 Ryan Babel Claude Makelele 4
15 Peter Crouch Claudio Pizarro 14
Substitutions
R Babel for J Pennant (68)
C Pizarro for S Kalou (46)
P Crouch for J Riise (83)
J Cole for S Wright-Phillips (77)
Alex for F Malouda (85)
Yellow Cards
Dirk Kuyt (30)
Michael Essien (12)
Jermaine Pennant (40)
Ashley Cole (59)
Steven Gerrard (43)
Tal Ben-Haim (63)
Jamie Carragher (61)
Frank Lampard (70)
John Terry (74)
· Club Squads: Liverpool | Chelsea
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