I’m going to enjoy this; results like these don’t come along that often. Oh no wait, yes they do – this is Liverpool’s 3rd consecutive win over United – forgive me. Coming into this afternoon’s game everybody was talking about how much longer Rafael Benitez would last at the helm. Now, just a couple of hours after, discussion has switched to the re-launch of Liverpool’s title bid. It was inevitable that would happen should Liverpool have got the 3 points, but I’m afraid I’m going to play the pessimist and say lets not speak too soon.
Liverpool were brilliant today, no doubt about it. The spark that they lacked in midweek against Lyon certainly returned against a lacklustre United side, who threatened very little throughout the course of the match. The home side’s best chance of the first half fell to Fabio Aurelio, whom after testing Edwin van der Sar with a 25-yard free kick, had a close-range header saved by the Dutchman – a chance that Aurelio probably should have scored.
United’s best chance of the half came via Wayne Rooney’s head, but Pepe Reina wasn’t made to work very hard by the England centre-forward. Little changed in the second 45, with Liverpool continuing to dominate and create chances. The deadlock was eventually broken after 66 minutes when Yossi Benayoun’s wonderful through pass found the run of Fernando Torres, who shrugged off Rio Ferdinand and fired past van der Sar. Question marks will again be raised over Ferdinand’s defending; he wasn’t tight enough to Torres to start with, and ended up wrong side, allowing Torres to graze through with ease.
The visitors failed to test Reina even after this goal. Nani skimmed the crossbar from a very tight angle and had a free kick saved by Reina with comfort, but Sir Alex will be disappointed that his side couldn’t conjure up more chances, especially against a Liverpool defence heavily criticised recently for leaking goals.
The referee did his best to try and get United back in the game. Numerous decisions went their way, and it’s plain to see why. Mr. Ferguson throwing another half-time tantrum may have something to do with it. Nemanja Vidic received a red card in the 90th minute for a reckless rugby tackle on Dirk Kuyt – Vidic probably lucky to have lasted that long if truth be told. It can be argued that Jamie Carragher should have received the same sanction just moments later for a seemingly last-man challenge on Michael Owen, but Andre Marriner produced yellow instead. Javier Mascherano also received his marching orders in the 95th minute for a silly lunge at Edwin van der Sar in the corner. Unnecessary and costly from the little Argentinian; he’ll now be banned for a game, meaning the Liverpool backroom staff will have to work extra hard to get Alberto Aquilani up to match fitness for next weekend.
I’d like to pinpoint a few one-to-one battles now:
Torres v Vidic: Not only was this United’s 3rd straight defeat against Liverpool, but it was also Vidic’s 3rd straight red card against the Reds. And it’s easy to see why. Torres ran the big Serb ragged at Old Trafford in March, and he did the same today. Too quick, strong, and skillful for the defender, who had to resort to fouling Torres to stop him getting away. Sir Alex revealed before the match that Vidic was “looking forward” to the tussle with Torres. Perhaps that’s what he’d like to have thought.
Valencia v Insua: This was United’s main route of attack. Insua looked vulnerable whenever the ball came his way, and United attempted to expose him on every possible occasion. Valencia was quicker and simply better than Insua, and it begs the question why United couldn’t have exploited that area more.
Mascherano/Lucas v Scholes/Carrick: This was probably the best game I’ve seen Lucas have. He seldom gave the ball away, and kept it very simple which is what you like your crap players to do I guess. Scholes and Carrick had little time on the ball thanks to the closing down from Mascherano and Lucas throughout the game. Those raking passes we’re so used to from Scholes weren’t so evident today.
Carragher v United: Jamie Carragher was immense. Yes, he probably should have been sent off, but that doesn’t take away the fact he was heroic. Every tackle he got right, every aerial battle he won, and United didn’t look like scoring while Carragher was on the pitch i.e the whole match. He’s received a lot of stick recently for being off the pace, but today he’s silenced his critics, if only for a few days.
A fantastic win for Liverpool then. Better than United in all areas, they wanted the ball more, and they wanted the win more. Pressure off Benitez for a short while, but now the hard work begins. Back these performances up and we’ve got a chance. For now, I’m a happy Liverpool supporter.
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