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Mon 09 Sep 2007Benitez takes wrong option and draws blankLiverpool 0 Birmingham City 0:Rafael Benitez was forced once again to defend his selection policy and, not for the first time, the evidence on the pitch convincingly countered the explanation offered by the Liverpool manager. Correctly anticipating that Birmingham City would come to Anfield with only damage limitation in mind, Benitez opted to leave Fernando Torres on the bench, relying instead on the more prosaic talents of Dirk Kuyt and Andriy Voronin to break down the visitors' commendably stubborn blanket defence.That they failed was as much to do with the frustratingly limited service provided by the home side's midfield and, in particular, the unconvincing Jermaine Pennant, but the immediate impact made by Torres when he was finally introduced after an hour underlined the error of his omission from the starting line-up.