Craig Bellamy dealt a blow to Liverpool's title chances as Man City earned a 1-1 draw at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. The former Red opened the scoring early in the second half before Dirk Kuyt equalised to leave Rafa Benitez contemplating a seven-point gap to leaders Man Utd.

With United scraping victory over Blackburn on Saturday tea-time, the pressure was very much on Liverpool, who found themselves eight points adrift despite just one defeat all season.

Benitez responded by selecting perhaps his strongest available side. With Xabi Alonso suspended and Steven Gerrard hamstrung, South American duo Lucas and Javier Mascherano were charged with stifling 12-goal Robinho in midfield. Fernando Torres and Dirk Kuyt, who between them scored all three goals in Liverpool's 3-2 victory at Eastlands in October, returned up front.

The game was preceded by some moving words from Kop old boy Brian Hall in tribute to pitchside announcer Phil Easton, whose death earlier this month stunned everyone at Liverpool Football Club and many more besides. Fittingly, Phil's baton has been passed, for 2008-09 at least, to Radio City colleague Peter McDowall.

With these sad formalities out of the way, Liverpool set about dominating their opponents pretty much from the word go. The hosts created three opportunities in the opening 10 minutes, the best of which fell to Torres after a lofted ball from Jamie Carragher was cut back by Yossi Benayoun. For once, the Spaniard's control let him down, and his shot was about as mis-placed as the story this week suggesting he fancied an appearance on Dancing on Ice.

Next, three Liverpool players failed to attack an inviting ball into the box from Andrea Dossena. There was similar confusion on 22 minutes when first Torres, then Riera failed to hit the target in the midst of a goalmouth scramble.

City were defending like a side with just one away win all season, but Liverpool's tally of missed chances was already totting up.

The visitors fired a warning shot on the half-hour mark when Stephen Ireland found Robinho with a 50-yard pass before surging forward to receive the ball in the penalty area. He needn't have bothered, for his shot was rifled straight into the chest of a grateful Pepe Reina.

Dossena then came close with a left-foot volley from distance, while Riera might have done better after Torres made a mug of Wayne Bridge down City's left.

El Nino was at the centre of everything Liverpool did, and it was he who fed Benayoun 18 yards out as half-time approached. The Israeli couldn't keep his shot down, while minutes later Dirk Kuyt headed wide to leave the game in stalemate as Phil Dowd signalled for the interval.

As has been the case all too often this season, Anfield was having to be patient. What the patrons didn't expect was a goal at the wrong end from a man once brought to Merseyside to win us the title. In curling a shot beyond Reina via the feet of Alvaro Arbeloa, Bellamy dealt a potentially devastating blow to Liverpool's championship ambitions.

It took almost 15 minutes for the home side to recover after Riera was replaced by Nabil El Zhar. The little Moroccan, so effective from the bench in the early part of the season, whipped a lovely ball towards Torres only for Richard Dunne to get there first.

It would take Liverpool until the 78th minute to wrestle an equaliser out of their increasingly resilient opponents when Benayoun struck a low cross into the box which, after a mis-hit shot from Torres, was rolled into the Kop net by Kuyt.

The Dutch international almost got his second five minutes later with a thunderous drive from 25 yards which Shay Given could only parry.

City's goalkeeper saved his new teammates again seconds later when El Zhar's cross was headed across the face of goal by Torres to Benayoun, who half-volleyed too close to Given.

Kuyt almost produced a winner with a turn and shot but it wasn't to be, and Liverpool now have a mountain to climb if they are to win their first ever Premier League title.


- Match Stats:


Liverpool FC: Reina, Arbeloa, Dossena (Fabio Aurelio 75’), Carragher Skrtel, Lucas, Mascherano (Babel 82’), Benayoun, Riera (El Zhar 63’), Kuyt, Torres.

Manchester City: Given, Richards, Onuoha, Dunne, Bridge, Zabaleta, De Jong, Kompany, Ireland, Bellamy, Robinho (Caicedo 87’).

Bookings: Dunne 32’, Kompany 73’, El Zhar 75’

Goals:

0-1 (48’) Bellamy
1-1 (77’) Kuyt