Liverpool 0-0 Stoke City : A drab afternoon at Merseyside

Liverpool drop points against Stoke City as they fail to score against relegation favourites Stoke City this afternoon. Liverpool had the majority of the possession and chances in Saturday afternoon's early kick-off, but failed to make their dominance count as Salah missed the chance to extend his Golden Boot lead over Harry Kane as he missed a simple lob over Jack Butland early in the first half.

Jurgen Klopp wanted the crowd to turn up and wanted them to back their team just like they do in every European game.

Klopp’s priority is Wednesday night's Champions League semi-final second leg against AS Roma - with Liverpool heading to Rome with a 5-2 aggregate lead - but the Reds coach will rue more dropped points in contrast to their stunning European form.

Stoke coach Paul Lambert will also regret missed chances as Ryan Shawcross could only slide a late chance into the side netting in the final minutes, leaving the Potters to ponder relegation.

Liverpool's superior goal difference means dropping out of the top four is unlikely at this stage, even if they lose one of their last two remaining games to Chelsea. And should Liverpool win this season's Champions League, they will automatically qualify for next year's competition.

Credit should be given to Stoke left-back Erik Pieters, who barely left Salah's side for the entire 90 minutes and did an effective job of shackling the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year.

The sight of the Egyptian limping slightly in the latter stages, after Henderson had received treatment earlier after being caught on the ankle by Xherdan Shaqiri, will have done little to help Klopp's mood - having watched his side squander a 2-0 lead against West Brom a week ago.

Aside from Mame Diouf heading into the side-netting and Peter Crouch just failing to connect with Shaqiri's low cross into the six-yard box, they gave a poor impersonation of a team supposedly fighting for their future until Ryan Shawcross stabbed wide at the far post with two minutes remaining.

The Reds, who had a late penalty shout when Wijnaldum's cross hit Pieters' arm, continue to leave the door open for fifth-placed Chelsea and next week's encounter at Stamford Bridge will be pivotal. However, before that they have a tricky second leg in Rome to negotiate.

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