Torres absence lifted Blues

Taylor happy to see star striker on the bench

By Rob Parrish   Last updated: 24th September 2007

Maik Taylor

Taylor: Torres lift

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Maik Taylor has admitted the absence of Fernando Torres from Liverpool's starting line-up gave Birmingham a lift prior to their 0-0 draw at Anfield.

The Spain international was left on the bench by Rafael Benitez with the Reds boss rotating his strikers once again with Andriy Voronin partnering Dirk Kuyt.

Torres was brought on for Ryan Babel with half an hour remaining to give Liverpool a three-pronged attack, but Birmingham held firm to take a point from their visit to Merseyside.

Surprise

Goalkeeper Taylor told the Birmingham Mail: "It was a bit of surprise that they didn't start with Torres.

"I suppose it did give us a bit of lift, he's the main man. Having said that, they've got other great strikers.

"I thought we coped with them very well and a couple of times they got close towards the end, we defended, got blocks in and saw the game out."

Questions

Taylor admitted Birmingham's intention was always to pick up a point and he saluted the efforts of his team-mates in keeping the Reds at bay.

He added: "We set our stall out, worked really hard, got our bodies behind the ball and the lads put themselves on the line.

"We just sat there and asked Liverpool a few questions to see if they could break us down. They couldn't, and we were delighted with that.

"They have world class players and a world class team. We were always going to be up against it. So it's a fantastic point, anything like that is a bonus at Liverpool."