Liverpool salvaged a 0-0 draw at FC Utrecht in the Europa League on Thursday after being dominated in the first half.
Utrecht created several scoring opportunities in the first half, but forwards Dries Mertens and Jacob Mulenga failed to beat goalkeeper Pepe Reina.
Liverpool has four points and Utrecht has two in Group K.
"I thought it was a good point," Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson said. "We knew it was going to be a tough game. It wasn't a dull 0-0. Utrecht did well.
"Utrecht were very committed. We saw a good team. We knew we had to be at our best defensively to keep them out. We will take a good point back to Liverpool."
Utrecht started the game well, creating the game's first chance in the fifth minute when Mertens provided a cross for Ricky van Wolfswinkel to shoot wide from 20 meters.
Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole's poor clearance almost earned Utrecht the lead two minutes later but Edouard Duplan failed to capitalize on the error, whipping a powerful shot that missed the target.
With Steven Gerard missing, Liverpool lacked creativity in midfield. The visitors could have taken the lead in the 23rd when Glen Johnson curled in a cross, but Raul Miereles' header did little to trouble goalkeeper Michel Vorm, who made a comfortable save.
Proving a menace for the Liverpool defense, Zambia winger Jacob Mulenga's low cross in the 22nd needed a well-timed clearance from Johnson.
The home team had the ball in the net in the 25th when Jan Wuytens' shot powered past goalkeeper Pepe Reina, but the referee ruled it out for a foul.
Reina came to Liverpool's rescue in the 29th, diving to keep out Duplan's hard shot from close range. Ten minutes later, the Spaniard's good positioning allowed him to use his legs to block Mertens' effort at the far post.
Chances kept coming for Utrecht, Tim Cornelisse rising above the defense only for his glancing header to miss the target.
Torres mis-hit his shot from 25 meters in the 47th. Utrecht replied by creating yet another chance off a dangerous cross from Mulenga.
Seconds later, Miereles kept Liverpool in the game by blocking on the goal line a drive from Michael Silberbauer.
Dirk Kuyt, who was quiet on his return to his former club, played in Fernando Torres in the 55th after a rare Liverpool counterattack but Vorm made the save.
Torres could have punished a defensive blunder in the 65th but he mistimed his shot before the ball rolled out for a goal kick.
Needing to improve defensively to stop Utrecht's assaults on goal, Liverpool created a few chances in the second half. The best of those was defender Martin Skrtel's header that hit the post in the 63rd minute.
