Aston Villa 0 Liverpool 0: Rafael Benitez saw his Liverpool side miss out on the chance to go top after a goalless draw against Aston Villa. Villa fans taunted the Reds boss with chants of 'There's only one Gareth Barry' after the collapse of the England midfielder's move to Liverpool.

John Carew came closest to winning the game for Villa, while David Ngog — a replacement for the injured Fernando Torres — was only inches too high with a chip for Liverpool.

Benitez was met with a crescendo of abuse from Villa fans when he made his way to the dug-out before shaking hands with home manager Martin O'Neill, with whom he became embroiled in a war of words over Barry.

But the game itself was mostly disappointing, with both sides cancelling each other out and for long periods adopting a safety-first approach until an exciting finale.

Liverpool needed to win to go top but they could not find their way through a home rearguard in which captain Martin Laursen was a rock-solid performer.

Midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker had one of his best games for Villa on the right flank, before switching to full-back in the closing stages to accommodate new recruit James Milner.

The encouraging factor for Villa was that they looked a match for Liverpool, an established member of the Premier League's 'big four', in a season where they are expected to challenge to break into the elite group of teams.

But Villa also found it difficult to create decent opportunities, with Javier Mascherano impressing in the Liverpool midfielder after his return from Olympic action with Argentina.