Sunday, October 15, 2006 . 12:04 AM

Liverpool's poor away from has infected their home form as well. In the matches leading up to this clash, while Liverpool looked dull, drab and short of ideas in away games, they were nearly unbeatable at home. Now they've looked to have made the transformation to Mr Hyde permanent.

They started the game off well against Blackburn, as they do all their home games. With their good movement and slick passing, they looked to break the Blackburn defence down. However, it was the visitors who put the ball into the net first in the 4th minutes via Benny McCarthy, albeit the goal being ruled out as offside. Liverpool responded and struck back, with Pennant chipping a neat cross from the byline to Gerrard, who powered his header over the bar. Liverpool continued to pressure and should have taken the lead in the 11th minuted, but Riise's cross-shot was pushed away by Brad Friedel, and Crouch could only look in despair as his effort from the rebound was cleared off the line by Khizanishvilli. Liverpool were playing in top gear and were looking good.

Blackburn were never just going to be spectators, however, and they attempted to catch Liverpool off-guard with their quick breaks and counterattacks. In the 17th minute, on a counterattack, David Bentley was allowed the time to drive a cross from the right hand side towards Benny McCarthy. Fooled by the curl on the cross, Reina rushed out of goal wanting to collect it, then changed his mind halfway. Steve Finnan failed to deal with the cross, allowing the ball to bounce over him and into the path of McCarthy, who side-footed the ball into an open goal. The goal had come totally against the run of play and Liverpool were deflated; it all went downhill from there.

Looking dull, drab and short of ideas, Liverpool limited themselves to long-ranged shots that only made Friedel look like an excellent shot-stopper (not to say that he isn't). For all their huffing and puffing in the remainder of the first half, Liverpool never looked like scoring, and it was Blackburn who looked more likely to put the ball in the back of the net (and they did again through David Bentley, although it was ruled as offside).

After half time, Liverpool continued to try to impose themselves on the game. Long ranged shots were becoming very common as Alonso and Riise both tried their luck on several occasions. However, the shots probably just boosted the confidence of Brad Friedel instead of giving Liverpool the equalizer. They continued to pile the pressure on though, making Blackburn look more and more uncomfortable. Finally, the breakthrough came in the 64th minute. Aurelio sent in a corner from the right hand side which bypassed a whole glut of players in the Blackburn box, falling to Bellamy who was unmarked. He bent down to plant his header past Friedel for his first goal for Liverpool in the Premiership.

Liverpool looked boosted by that goal and went for the jugular. But at the way they were attacking, they looked more likely to hit the spleen. There were breakdowns in communications between Bellamy and Crouch, Gerrard looked as if he had lost his form totally and Alonso and Riise skied their aimless shots all over the place. Blackburn, although having minimal possession, had two excellent chances to win the game. The first came from Robbie Savage's free kick that was just over the bar. The next came from some woeful Liverpool defending as Sami Hyypia failed to deal with a lob and gave Jason Roberts control in the penalty area, where the ball fell loose to David Bentley, who rounded Carragher and tried to dink the ball over Reina, but Reina did well to block the shot. It was inevitable that it would end with a draw or a win for Blackburn as Liverpool kept most of the possession without ever really threatening.

Anfield was once known as a Fortress, but with Galatasaray sneaking two goals in the last Champions League fixture here and Blackburn now earning a draw, Liverpool's defenses look to have been broken down. The Premiership title now looks to be well and truly lost. With yet another false dawn this season, one can only hope that Rafael Benitez will be able to salvage something this year.

Player Ratings:

Jose Reina - 6
Made a terrible mistake for the first goal. Was never going to get to the cross, and he realized it too late. Other than that was okay at the back. Has an obvious weakness in clearances, sometimes hitting the ball too low allowing it to be easily intercepted. Made a good save towards the end to deny Blackburn a win.

Steve Finnan - 6
Failed to deal with the cross that led to McCarthy's goal. Does not really do his centre-back covering as well as he does his right back or wing back duties.

John Arne Riise - 7
Good attacker throughout the game. Came close early in the game, but his long range shots towards the end were poor. Was a real threat down the left for Liverpool.

Jamie Carragher - 6
Looked shaky at the back and was threatened by the pace of Benny McCarthy. The excellent central defensive partnership with Sami Hyypia looks to have disintegrated.

Sami Hyypia - 6
Made a terrible mistake, nearly giving Blackburn the winner. Could not deal with Nonda or McCarthy at times.

Jermaine Pennant - 7
One of the better Liverpool players for the game. Saw a lot of the ball and made many penetrating runs down the right hand side. However, for all his possession, failed to deliver good crosses and sometimes held the ball for too long instead of playing it.

Fabio Aurelio - 6
Started the game well but faded away as the game wore on. Set up Bellamy's equalizer, but his corners leave a lot more to be desired. Unsure defending at times.

Xabi Alonso - 6
Does not provide Liverpool the steel in midfield unlike Momo Sissoko. Had a few inventive passes, but failed to come up with anything to unlock the Blackburn defense. Long ranged shots were woeful.

Steven Gerrard - 6
Was largely absent for most of the match, his attacking presence surely was not felt. If he continues to remain anonymous for Liverpool then they are going to be in big trouble.

Peter Crouch - 6
First touch was poor at times and his knock downs for other players were woeful. Did not really come close to scoring other than his effort that was cleared off the line.

Craig Bellamy - 6
Disappointing game, other than the goal. Like Gerrard, was largely anonymous throughout. Failed to link with Crouch, wasting several good opportunities.

Substitutes:

Luis Garcia - 6
Came on and injected some creativity into the Liverpool side, but could not inspire them to victory. Lost the ball too easily at times.

Final Score: Liverpool 1-1 Blackburn Rovers

Archangel's Man Of The Match: John Arne Riise