Reds thwarted by Cahill

Liverpool missed the chance to return to the top of the table as Tim Cahill rescued a draw for Everton.

Liverpool stay second following 1-1 draw

Liverpool missed the chance to return to the top of the Premier League table as Tim Cahill rescued a 1-1 draw for Everton at Anfield. The first half was a largely scrappy affair with defences on top but Fernando Torres, starting up front alongside Robbie Keane, missed a glorious opportunity to break the deadlock and Jose Reina had to pull off a couple of smart stops at the other end. Torres then had a confident penalty appeal turned away early in the second period before Steven Gerrard opened the scoring with a powerful low strike from 20 yards in the 68th minute. Liverpool looked in little trouble at the back but with three minutes to go Cahill headed home Mikel Arteta's free-kick to extend Everton's unbeaten run to six games and deal a blow to their Merseyside rivals' title hopes.

Intent

Everton showed their intent inside 40 seconds when Victor Anichebe struck a fierce, low 20-yarder that forced Reina into a full-stretch save to his left. Everton were not going to be out-muscled and three quick fouls on Gerrard had referee Howard Webb issuing lectures to Phil Neville, Joleon Lescott and Arteta. Then Liverpool's first clear chance saw a 12th-minute drive from Kuyt blocked by Leighton Baines in the six-yard box. Webb continued to be tolerant as the contest became heated, and fouls by Neville on Dirk Kuyt, Cahill on Martin Skrtel and Phil Jagielka on Keane failed to see a card produced. Then Reina was again forced into action to keep out a fine header from Cahill following Anichebe's far post cross. Everton were more than matching their neighbours, with the abrasive Cahill as confrontational as ever. But Steven Pienaar pushed Webb too far and was booked for a block on Torres. Seconds later the Spanish striker surged between Lescott and Jagielka, only to lift his shot against a post and behind.

Punished

Cahill then almost punished Xabi Alonso for taking a quick free-kick, the Australian blocking the ball and lifting a shot over the crossbar from the half-way line. Anichebe and Alonso both needed treatment after a clash of heads, before Leon Osman won possession in midfield and forced Reina into another save and Albert Riera then sent a 20-yarder flashing just wide of Tim Howard's right-hand post. Referee Webb refused Liverpool a penalty two minutes after the break when Torres went down theatrically after being pushed by Jagielka. Arteta was booked for a trip on Kuyt, Liverpool having the most sustained spell of pressure in the match. But still Baines got away down the left twice to test Reina with testing crosses. And after Cahill had won a soft free-kick against Skrtel, Arteta fired in a low drive that Reina held with some difficulty. Howard saved well from Gerrard and Baines was not to know Torres was offside as he produced a fine saving tackle to stop the striker scoring from the rebound. Liverpool needed more guile to break down Everton's outstanding defence and Yossi Benayoun came on for Keane. Everton felt they deserved a penalty when Skrtel looked to send Anichebe tumbling, and they may have had a case.

Surge

But the South Yorkshire referee waved away the appeals, and the complaints were still raging on the pitch - and the touchline - as Liverpool surged away for Gerrard to crash home a 30-yard drive to put the hosts ahead. It had been over 10 hours since Everton had previously conceded a goal. Everton hit back with Osman firing a rising drive that Reina held. Such was Liverpool's desire to hang onto their lead that Torres was replaced by Lucas after 85 minutes, Kuyt now playing a lone role up front. And Everton's defiance was rewarded when they forced themselves level after 87 minutes when Arteta's free-kick from the left was met by a powerful, flicked header by Cahill in the six-yard box. Liverpool sent on Ryan Babel for Riera, but were unable to deny Everton their point.

Liverpool	Team Statistics	Everton
1	Goals	1
0	1st Half Goals	0
2	Shots on Target	6
5	Shots off Target	1
2	Blocked Shots	0
4	Corners	4
20	Fouls	17
2	Offsides	1
0	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
74.8	Passing Success	71.8
19	Tackles	22
57.9	Tackles Success	77.3
53.8	Possession	46.2
51.2	Territorial Advantage	48.8