Nwankwo Kanu missed a penalty in the 32nd minute as Portsmouth held on to a 0-0 draw against Liverpool in their Premiership clash on Saturday.

Portsmouth created a number of chances in a match which saw a lackluster performance by Liverpool and could have walked away with all three points were it not for a great save by Pepe Reina to deny Kanu from the penalty spot.

Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez continued to persist with his rotation policy and made as many as five chances to the line up that had thrashed Derby County 6-0. Peter Crouch and Voronin got a look in ahead of Fernando Torres and Dirk Kuyt up front while Steven Gerrard was named on the bench.

Liverpool made their intentions clear as early as in the 3rd minute when David James was forced into a great save to deny Yossi Benayoun. Xabi Alonso had a great chance to break the deadlock in the 10th minute after a quick counter attack by Liverpool but the midfielder shot over the bar from 30 yards out.

Crouch looked to have scored in his first start for Liverpool but his angled shot was saved brilliantly by James as Liverpool continued to step up the pressure in search of a goal. However it was Pompey who had the best chance of the match when referee Mike Riley pointing to the spot after a tussle between Alvaro Arbeloa and Kanu during a corner kick.

Kanu stepped up confidently but was denied by a superb save by Reina who dived low to his right to keep out the spot kick. With Liverpool unable to create the magic of their last match, Portsmouth smelled blood in the second half as they pushed forward in search of all three points.

John Utaka had a great chance to get the goal after he was sent clear by Diop but the striker managed to miss the target with just Reina to beat. Muntari had another chance to score, but looped his shot over the bar after controlling Kanu's pass.

Benitez went for the kill, first sending in Torres at the hour mark and followed it up with Gerrard and Ryan Babel. But it was Voronin who came close to scoring for Liverpool when his header smashed against the crossbar.

With Liverpool unable to create any chances, Pompey held on to the result to gain a precious point against Liverpool, who slipped off the top of the table after Arsenal's victory over Tottenham. Watch live Premiership football here on free-football.tv.