LIVERPOOL, England, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Liverpool could only manage a 0-0 New Year's Day draw with Leeds United on Thursday that cost Arne Slot's men precious points in the Premier League title race.
Holders Liverpoolare fourth in the standings with 33 points after 19 games, 12 behind leaders Arsenal, while Leeds are 16th with 21 points, seven above the relegation zone.
"It doesn't come along that often that you get a clean sheet and a point at Anfield," Leeds boss Daniel Farke told the BBC. "We had to defend and suffer but we are newly promoted and came to the defending champions."
Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin briefly celebrated what he thought was the winning goal in the 81st minute when he latched onto a pass from Noah Okafor and lifted the ball over onrushing goalkeeper Alisson Becker, but it was ruled out for offside.
Calvert-Lewin, who was unable to extend his run of scoring in six consecutive matches, was a late substitution after Farke made the bold decision to start him on the bench.
"Sometimes the head has to win over the heart," Farke said. "We had four Premier League fixtures in 10 days and I have to trust my whole squad. We know what happened to Dominic in the last few years with injuries. Overall it was a sign of how much I trust the group."
Liverpool, who had been on a run of four successive wins across all competitions, lacked any sort of urgency against an excellent defensive effort from Leeds and squandered a couple of good chances.
The best was Hugo Ekitike's header at the far post from Jeremie Frimpong's cross that he headed away from the goal.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk missed a chance in the second half when he headed a corner kick wide of the net.
Alisson nearly gifted Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu a goal with a horrible clearance. Alisson tried to play the ball out with the outside of his boot and it fell to Ampadu, who fired first time, but the goalkeeper recovered to save the Welshman's shot.
"You would like to start off (2026) with a win," Slot said."But it was difficult. I don't think we were able to play many times through their low block. But a few times we did.
"Sometimes we didn't have enough bodies in front of the goal and in other moments where we did create or we were close to a goal, we were a bit unfortunate.
"In the end I thought it would have been the same as many times this season when we did concede a goal and lose it 1-0 but that was offside."
Many fans had left by the time the final whistle sounded, and boos rang out from the crowd still there, while Leeds celebrated the single point.
"A good battle and they're a great side," Leeds defender James Justin told Sky Sports. "They've not been their best this season, but you know what quality they have.
"Today, we did a good job collectively, so a pat on the back for us. There was a lot of emphasis going on a few days before the game, trying out different shapes with different players. Luckily, today, we chose the right tactic."
(Reporting by Lori EwingEditing by Christian Radnedge)
