But despite that, the Blues remained very much in hunt for a place in the top four. Spurs were main beneficiaries of the CoMs stalemate and moved into fourth spot on goal difference after their win at Wigan.
All the talk before the match had been of a showdown for the coveted fourth Champions League qualifying place but this stalemate coupled with results elsewhere saw things tighten up considerably in the Barclays Premier League table.
Pepe Reina’s save from Emmanuel Adebayor in the second half was City’s best chance, while the visitors were not much of a threat to a reshaped City back four. No fewer than than six Reds saw yellow but Rafa Benitez was possibly the happier of the two managers at the end of the game.
City were ahead of their rivals for a coveted place in Europe’s premier club competition at the start of proceedings by just one point and were keen to stretch that advantage with their game in hand, the home contest with Everton, still to come on an as-yet undetermined date.
The manager had shuffled his pack after the draw in the Potteries that had put the Blues a nose ahead of the Reds. Zabaleta started in place of Richards, while Kompany replaced Toure, who dropped to the bench with a slight knee injury. The other change in the back four was Wayne Bridge’s return for Javi Garrido.
Patrick Vieira’s suspension required a rethink in midfield, so Stephen Ireland came back while Shaun Wright-Phillips also started, with Roque Santa Cruz an option as a substitute alongside Craig Bellamy.
Torres was available as a replacement for the visitors, who started with Steven Gerrard playing just behind Kuyt. Stephen Ireland mirrored Gerrard by roaming around back of Adebayor, while de Jong and Barry did battle with Mascherano and Lucas.
So after the two blood-and-thunder encounters with Stoke over the last week, the sell-out crowd settled down to watch an altogether cagier affair.
It was cat-and-mouse for the opening 15 minutes or so, with Liverpool failing to make anything from a succession of corners, until Adam Johnson lifted the crowd by spinning away from Gerrard and going on one of his trademark mazy runs.
With the former Boro man stationed on the left wing to begin with and SWP on the right, City had a lot more width to them than of late, although our January signing overhit two crosses in the minutes after his dance away from the Liverpool skipper. However the pair swapped flanks around the half-hour as Mancini sought some way to unlock Liverpool’s defence.
Zabaleta’s shot with his left foot from outside the area on 37 minutes lacked potency, and there was an air of frustration around soon afterwards when Adebayor and Ireland could not capitalise on a poor clearance from the Liverpool keeper.
Skrtel nodded wide in what was the Reds’ best chance of the half, with the impressive defender clearly feeling he had wasted a good opportunity, although he was lucky that the corner he rose to was given in the first place. The “shots on target” stats of none to either side before the break told their own story.
City could do nothing from a flurry of corners for City early in the second half, but Reina was finally called upon in the 62nd minute when he had to smartly turn behind Adebayor’s rasping volley.
It was all turning a bit tetchy, with fouls on Zabaleta leading to bookings for Mascherano, Babel and Benayoun.
Bellamy’s introduction with a quarter of the game to go roused the home fans, and he looked all set for a rampaging run down the left when the referee called play back to book Kuyt, much to the annoyance of City and their manager. The Dutchman’s challenge on his fellow countryman was a poor one but the teak-tough de Jong was back on his feet in a heartbeat.
With around 10 minutes left Adebayor was denied a chance to break the deadlock by an immaculate tackle from Skrtel, and at the resulting corner the City striker could not get over a chipped ball from Kompany and headed over.
Mascherano looked lucky to stay on the field after he caught Barry on the ankle from behind, but Mr Walton gave nothing while the City midfielder eventually made his way gingerly back into the action.
Abdi Ibrahim, on for the first time in the Premier League, shot well wide deep into stoppage time and that was the last real action of a day that ended with City no doubt rueing the fact that they did not take up the chance to move further ahead of Liverpool, but even so they remained very much in the mix for a place in the top four with nearly one-third of the seasons still to go.
