Reds lift Anfield misery

Benitez earns vital win, while Vidic and Mascherano see late red cards

By Peter Fraser   Last updated: 25th October 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Reds lift Anfield misery

Torres: Moment of brilliance

Man of the Match: Fernando Torres played through the pain barrier to help his team and, despite being restricted to working on scraps, produced a moment which demonstrated all of his predatory class when breaking the deadlock.

Goal of the Match: It is that man Torres. The Spain star was not 100 per cent fit but still had too much pace and power for Rio Ferdinand before firing into the roof of the net.

Save of the Match: Edwin van der Sar brilliantly kept out Fabio Aurelio's free-kick in the first half when diving to his left to tip away the curling effort.

Controversy of the Match: United claimed Jamie Carragher should have been sent off for pulling down Michael Owen. Nemanja Vidic was dismissed shortly after.

Talking Point: Nothing to do with beach balls. Are Liverpool back in the Premier League title race? Does the win ease pressure on Rafa Benitez? Why were Manchester United off-colour?

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Liverpool earned a 2-0 victory over fierce North West rivals Manchester United to lift the recent misery surrounding Anfield.

Pre-match build-up focused on doom and gloom as the Reds went into the contest in their worst form for 22 years, sparking speculation that Rafa Benitez could be facing the sack.

But Torres - who overcame injury to start, unlike Steven Gerrard - and substitute David Ngog scored in the second half to earn a first win in four games, erasing the pain of consecutive defeats to Fiorentina, Chelsea, Sunderland and Lyon.

The first half had been a tight affair, failing to meet the level of expectancy surrounding the fixture, and ended goalless as Edwin van der Sar saved a Fabio Aurelio free-kick, while Wayne Rooney could not generate power in a header.

Proceedings then continued in a similar fashion after the interval, however, Torres demonstrated his brilliance in the 65th minute as he had too much speed and strength for the out-of-form Rio Ferdinand before finishing from close range.

The goal brought the game to life in a thrilling conclusion and United were incensed as Jamie Carragher avoided a red card when pulling down Michael Owen, who was severely booed when entering the game from the bench on his return to Anfield.

United's frustrations increased shortly after as Nemanja Vidic was dismissed for a second booking when hauling down Dirk Kuyt to earn his third successive red card against Liverpool.

Javier Mascherano followed shortly after as the Argentine had a rush of blood to the head with a slide challenge on United goalkeeper Van der Sar, which warranted a second booking.

Ngog then made sure of the points in front of a jubilant Kop as the Frenchman kept his composure to apply the finishing touch to a swift counter-attack deep into stoppage time.

Punishing reception

As expected, Gerrard missed the match with a groin problem, but Rooney recovered from a calf injury to play for the champions.

Liverpool had Torres and Glen Johnson back after both missed the UEFA Champions League defeat to Lyon on Tuesday, while United also had Ryan Giggs, Patrice Evra and Michael Carrick back in their starting line-up.

Owen, facing his former club, started on the bench and on his introduction received a punishing reception from the fans who once worshipped him.

United's supporters made the most of Liverpool's recent misfortune. Beach balls, Eric Cantona masks and insulting banners were smuggled into the away section.

Watching on were Liverpool co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, sitting side-by-side in the directors' box, but not in the exposed front row.

The atmosphere was electric, the noise deafening, as Liverpool set about trying to restore their battered reputation, but the opening exchanges did not quite live up to all the hype.

Evra was booked after two trips on Torres in as many minutes, and from the free-kick Aurelio sent in a curled effort that Van der Sar clawed away. It went straight to Kuyt, whose follow-up was also saved by his Dutch compatriot.

Then Lucas Leiva robbed Paul Scholes and gave Kuyt another chance, this one guided wide of the far post.

Rooney, who had seen one effort disallowed for offside, rose to met an Antonio Valencia cross, but his header was held low to his right by Jose Reina.

United had better possession and hit Liverpool with pace and slick movement, but Van der Sar was again needed to plunge to his right to keep out an Aurelio header from Yossi Benayoun's cross.

Then Dimitar Berbatov was booked for a trip on Lucas, with the game finely balanced as the half ended.

Kuyt should have scored early in the second period when he was played in by Johnson, but he chose to pass rather than blast an angled effort, and the chance was lost.

Confidence

Then the excellent Benayoun's touch sent Torres away on the right, but his lack of genuine pace following his groin problem did not see him shake off Ferdinand, and again the opening went begging.

It then needed a block from Johnson on the far post to keep out Rooney's header from Giggs' free-kick.

But Liverpool were growing in confidence and they grabbed the lead after 65 minutes.

Benayoun's superb pass sent Torres beyond Ferdinand, onside only by inches.

The Spaniard was not going to be denied this time. He held off the England centre-back and lashed a shot into the roof of the net. Anfield went berserk.

Mascherano was booked for a foul on Evra before Anfield had its first sight of Owen in a United shirt as he came on for Berbatov and Nani replaced Scholes after 74 minutes.

Vidic was booked for a foul on Torres, and then after 80 minutes Torres could run no more and Ngog took his place.

Valencia saw a powerful cross-shot rebound off the Liverpool bar and Owen was searching for any inch of space.

He almost had a chance when he chased a through-ball, only to be hauled down by his good friend Carragher. The Liverpool skipper was only booked, much to the frustration of United and boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

With just a minute of normal time left, Vidic pulled down Kuyt as the forward raced into an empty half. Red followed a second yellow, and the Serbian was sent off for the third successive game against Liverpool.

Three minutes into added time Mascherano was also sent off for a challenge on Van der Sar, the Argentina captain's second yellow-card offence.

Then came the killer blow to United. Liverpool broke from deep defence, Lucas delayed his pass to send Ngog away on his own and the striker slid the second past Van der Sar. Anfield, and Benitez, could finally celebrate.

LiverpoolTeam StatisticsManchester United
2Goals0
01st Half Goals0
5Shots on Target3
6Shots off Target2
5Blocked Shots3
5Corners1
20Fouls13
1Offsides3
1Yellow Cards2
1Red Cards1
69.7Passing Success74.8
31Tackles25
71Tackles Success88
42.9Possession57.1
50.6Territorial Advantage49.4

Comments (39)

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Nkanyiso Ngubane (Chelsea fan) says...

To be honest Liverpool amazed me with their display, Torres once again proved his worth with his sublime finish though he showed he was back from injury. Lucas 4da first time proved why Rafa brought him to the team. Well done liverpool

Posted 06:22 26th October 2009

Kevin Mundy (Arsenal fan) says...

I think that Liverpool fans shouldn't get carried away with this result for a few reasons, 1, They again had to rely on Torres for the goal that changed the game, no Torres and I think Liverpool would have drawn or lost the game. 2, The issue of relying on two players, who without they are an avarage team has not gone away. 3, they played with real passion yesterday cos of the situation and it being Utd, but I don't think they will maintain that, another poor result like Spurs or Sunderland and all the fear and issues will be back, the Utd game was like a cup final and its hard to play every game like that, especially away to Bolton - no offence Bolton fans. 4, Utd were well under par, I fear when Chelsea, Villa, City or Arsenal visit it will be more of a challenge. It was a good result for Liverpool, but like I said don't get carried away, a lot of the problems you have got have not been resolved by that single victory.

Posted 06:11 26th October 2009

Ashley Davies (Stoke City fan) says...

Best team won, Great advert for footy. Just need to sort out Fergie cos your team lost u the game not the Ref!

Posted 06:08 26th October 2009

J. B. (Liverpool fan) says...

I am still in shock after that result, the way we have been playing recently I thought we would be smashed by MANUre, I really cannot fault any player after that game, they all played there socksd off, Carra and Lucas in particular played very well, however it must be said that United we FAR from their best. Lets hope we will get some consistancy out of the team now.

Posted 05:56 26th October 2009

Mark Barsby (Liverpool fan) says...

How anyone can say that Lucas had a bad game must be reffering to some other previous prem league fixture, he was exellent as was all of the team. It confuses me how fans repeatedly slag off Lucas and the in the next sentence state 'in Rafa we trust'. A bit two faced isn't it? Afterall Rafa picks the team, Lucas does not just appear on the picth of his own free will, he is there because Rafa wants him there. If you trust Rafa then trust his decisions, he puts players in positions to do a job, if that player is not playing keepy uppy, beating six or seven players and then scoring everyone thinks he is rubbish. Remember, all have a role to play in a manner that the manager instructs them to play. MOTM for me was Lucas with Carra a very close second. Well done all, please try and keep it up until the end of the season.

Posted 05:47 26th October 2009

Darius Ceasar says...

It was a fantastic win by Liverpool FC...All the L F C players deserve thi swin and RAFA also..you will never walk alone

Posted 05:18 26th October 2009

Ammar Hafiz (Liverpool fan) says...

Brilliant Game from Liverpool! I was hoping we can still win the title!

Posted 04:26 26th October 2009

Avinash Aunaruth (Liverpool fan) says...

Played well but let's face it,you can't always lose.We had to win sooner or later and manutd were a bit too confidant while we were desperate to break our ducks.Results, we played better but let's admit that Utd were not at their best as well.We played better than other games but it was psychological desperation while Mantud thought, what, this is going to be a push over game.Again allPsychology and i still say that Benitez should go because he cannot provide such a performance from his team week in and out.Benitez should calm down and not feel vindicated just yet.1 out of five is not something to blabber about just yet.After all Burnley got passed Utd too but that does not mean they will win the EPL or end up in 4th place. A great win but let's enjoy it while it lasts and not get carried away.

Posted 01:27 26th October 2009

Emmanuel Adefila says...

What a performance from team. we are the better team from start to finish. we thoroughly deserve to win and we are back in the title race. Well done=====

Posted 01:22 26th October 2009

William Hunt (Liverpool fan) says...

Great game thoroughly deserved the win Carra was a bit lucky but thats about it. Vidic and Mascherano both deserved to walk. I notice a couple of people singing the praises of Lucas sure he layed on the Ngog goal but apart from that all he did was foul people as well as give away dangerous free kicks hes terrible and a definite weak link he shouldn't get in the side. I thought Benayoun and Torres were quality today.

Posted 01:18 26th October 2009

Sanjay Ramachandra (Liverpool fan) says...

Chelski were the real winners. Man Utd can always afford to lose to us and take the title, so our wins against them count for nothing. At least it was heartening to see Fergie unable to wind the ref up b4 and during the game. If Benitez were to go ( and he will), I can only think of Louis Aragones as the ideal replacement for us. Mourinho would never come, he is replacing Fergie. Maybe he might even go to Man City. But i can assure you whichever manager takes over us, he will only keep Torres, Gerrard, Reina, Agger and Macherano. The rest (yes, Carra, too) will be flown to Stockport City for a trial there. Let's at least hope for a top 4 finish. YNWA!

Posted 01:04 26th October 2009

Stephen Murphy (Manchester United fan) says...

Credit where credits due,Liverpool were the better team by miles and fully deserved the win..i think every united fan and probably player were concentrating on liverpools problems and tought id wud b a walk in the park but we got found out today! ferdinand was useless,berbatov doesnt even deserve to wear a united shirt and despite the best efforts of scholes and giggs they just cant keep up with the match pace of a game against any of the big teams(and im a huge scholes and giggs fan but they just cant keep going like they used to against a big team) We need fletcher back coz he is the only united midfielder who will take a game by the scruff of the neck,a fit johhny evans as he is absolut solid and one of the best young defenders around and a fully fit owen hargreves as he will add that bit off class we need in the midfield! berbatov would seriously want a kick up the whole and take a seriously look at himself..he gets away with it coz of rooneys work ethic but he is no heart and drive! owen looks good netime he plays(intelligent runs and a great positional scence) but needs more games and goals and shud be played more,id have him over berba neday coz of his will to win and work rate! all and all were relying on rooney, o'shea, evra(all the consistent performers too much) and other players would want to step up and show what there made of!!

Posted 00:22 26th October 2009

Dan Mayfield (Liverpool fan) says...

A tremendous win today, the team showed a huge amount of commitment and deserved the victory. One more point regarding the sendings off. Carragher was given a yellow card for his challenge and so was Vidic, exactly the same punishment. The only difference was that Vidic already was on a yellow, so there cannot be any complaints about inconsistency from the referee he dealt with them in the same manner. YNWA!

Posted 00:05 26th October 2009

Paul Dunderdale (Liverpool fan) says...

Liverpool were by far the best team today, even Taggart said so! We exposed them for what they are - an ordinary team who can be beaten. Now, PLEASE will the other teams wake up and smell the coffee - go out and have a go at them???

Posted 23:03 25th October 2009

Dave Warrington (Manchester United fan) says...

Credit where credit is due Liverpool more than deserved their win today and totally outplayed us but to be honest It's the result I expected given how we have been playing this season. There seems to be no cohesion without Fletcher in the team and our creativity is quite honestly non existent. I think that unless Hargreaves comes back fit and able to play then we can wave goodbye to League Trophy number 4. We simply can't rely on just fletcher all the time....I fear for us this season, I really do.

Posted 21:57 25th October 2009

Brendan Hughes (Liverpool fan) says...

Today we showed how inconsistent we are. Great performasce today after bad few games. But saying that, get in !! I thought lucas had is best game in a red shirt today. Showed some neat touches and tracked back and defended well. Mascha played well and didn't deserve a second red. I thought ref was inconsistent. Torres showed yet again his class, 34 goals out of 35 games at Anfield now. Show me a striker with a better strike rate than that. Benny was again ducking and diving throught the manc defence. And everyone in general played their socks off. I would'nt like to bet on us winning the league but at least it will give the lads some confidence going into the next game. As Rafa says ' One game at a time '

Posted 20:36 25th October 2009

Tom Dickinson (Liverpool fan) says...

Fantastic win today, everyone in the liverpool starting 11 played brilliantly today...but we have to be realistic. there is still a long way to go and if we are going to win the league (which is still possible) we need to play as well as we played today in every single game. obviously i am chuffed with the result, as every reds fan should be, but we need to put it behind us and concentrate on the next game as we need to win most of them if not all of them to win the league. COME ON YOU MIGHTY REDS!!!! YNWA

Posted 20:17 25th October 2009

Ian Wheeler (Liverpool fan) says...

Outstanding performance from Liverpool, never ever thought i would ever see the day a Man Utd fan would ever admit we were the better team! Yossi was unbeliveable as always and he is going to be the man other then El Neno who will win us games. Aurellio had a great performance and it was great to see Carra back on his normal game. Amazing performance red men lets get a run of games going from an emphatic win!

Posted 20:07 25th October 2009

James Wilson (Manchester United fan) says...

Every time we play a top team its always the same the lack of a world class midfielder is clear. Giggs, scholes etc can look good against the weaker teams because you get more time on the ball, Barca, Liverpool, Chelsea do not afford teams that luxury. Yes we missed Fletcher or even that forgotten man Owen Hargreaves but we need someone to get up to the front to is a goal threat or have a little guile with their passing. I personally don't have problem with the wide players its in the middle where the battle is won or lost and its their we are most vulnerable and would allow Rooney to play further forward and give him the chances instead of him having to do it alone

Posted 19:55 25th October 2009

Steven Johnson (Hull City fan) says...

No doubt about it. The best team won today. However, Liverpool are not consistent enough. They need to be beating the lesser teams regularly, not slipping upi against them like they did Sunderland and Aston Villa. The team from trafford aren't a great team; they are a consistent team and it is this that wins them the premier league. Still, today's result was fantastic for Liverpool and the EPL. Well done Liverpool and well done Rafa.

Posted 19:49 25th October 2009
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