It's never nice to draw a game that you dominate the opposition in, especially a match in which you would expect to get a positive result out of, targeting a specific position in the table. No-one understands this more than Liverpool, who laboured to a rather lacklustre 0-0 home draw against Steve Bruce's Hull this past weekend.

Now, with all due respect to "The Tigers", they are not the best team in the league - but know how to scrap results against better sides without being on the top of their game. They did it against Arsenal last week, and they also frustrated Brendan Rodgers' team to ensure that the points were shared during the game.

Bogey team? Abel Hernandez (pictured in black) scored as Hull denied Arsenal all 3 points last week.

But, that's no excuse for Liverpool - Arsenal could end up ahead of them come May, and it's these types of fixtures that Rodgers' men need to be winning if they are to stand a real chance of getting European football again. Questions asked over the reliance of Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling will reverberate around the league, especially now that Suárez left the club to join Barcelona in the summer transfer window for £75million pounds. Have the club invested wisely or not?

Talisman gone: Suárez (pictured) left the club in a big money-move to join Barca, playing in the El Clasico just hours after their 0-0 draw.

An encouraging point would be the fact that they are not doing too badly, and overall as a team playing poorly. 7th place is obviously not where the club want to be, and they could easily be in the top four, let alone challenging Chelsea at the top.. 3 defeats already this campaign isn't good enough for a team of Liverpool's calibre and stature, but is it fair to judge them yet?

And yes, you may argue that many of their title/qualification rivals dropped points this weekend, but you would have expected Liverpool to beat Hull comfortably; for a team desperately wanting to prove that they are one of Europe's elite once again. Tottenham lost at home to Newcastle, City also managed to lose away at West Ham whilst Chelsea drew 1-1 with United, but Arsenal managed to scrape through unscathed at The Stadium of Light.. Why could The Reds not do the same?

Under-fire £16million summer signing Mario Balotelli came close to giving Liverpool a last-gasp winner with the last kick of the game, but somehow missed from close range with the clock ticking, as Hull denied their hosts the victory in an underwhelming display. For a side that are fighting for regular Champions League qualification once again, it's not the best sign of things to come in truth.

Criticism justified? Balotelli missed a gifted chance on Saturday, with only 1 goal to his name in a Liverpool shirt, coming against Ludogorets in the UCL.
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About the author
Mosope Ominiyi
Writer and editor - European football analyst, youth enthusiast. Email: [email protected]