There were no goals in the Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton at Anfield this afternoon.

© PA Photos

The visitors kept the ball well in the opening minutes, but it was Liverpool who had the first attempts on goal, with Daniel Sturridge firing two efforts well wide early on.

Marouane Fellaini had a good chance to break the deadlock for the Toffees, but he fired the ball straight at Pepe Reina in the Liverpool goal before the assistant referee ruled that he had been offside.

Sturridge continued to look a threat at the start of the second half, as Philippe Coutinho fed the ball through to the striker, but Tim Howard was able to stop his effort.

Everton got the ball in the back of the net in the 56th minute, but referee Michael Oliver ruled that Victor Anichebe fouled Reina in the run-up to Sylvain Distin's header and disallowed the goal.

A strong spell for the hosts saw chances for Coutinho, Jordan Henderson and Steven Gerrard but the Reds could not get the ball past Howard, who made a series of saves in the Everton goal.

Kevin Mirallas looked to get a shot away after chasing down a Jose Enrique back-pass, but the defender brought him down before the Everton forward could connect with the ball.

Reina had to make an awkward save late on, as an Anichebe strike from distance took a looping deflection, forcing the Liverpool keeper to palm the ball away from the top corner of his goal.