Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard rekindled their partnership which proved too much for Real Madrid in midweek, to produce another Anglo-Hispanic masterclass at Old Trafford yesterday. With an outcome that no-one could have quite predicted, a 4-1 drubbing of Manchester United, the back pages of every newspaper across Britain were splashed with images of Torres and Gerrard today.
Despite needing a win in Manchester to keep any sort of title challenge alive, it was the Mancunian side that started on the front foot. United seeked an early goal, like they got at Anfield earlier in the season, that would give them a massive advantage, given their defensive record at Fortress Old Trafford this season. However, possessing two holding midfielders in Lucas and Mascherano, Liverpool were able to weather the early storm from the champions.
The deadlock was broken after 23 minutes, when Tevez poked a ball through to Park Ji Sung. The Korean was tripped by the on-rushing Pepe Reina, and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. In reality, it was a dubious penalty decision, as Park had kicked the ball into an almost impossible angle, and waited for contact from the goalkeeper. Some referees would give it, others would not. It was world player of the year, Cristiano Ronaldo, who placed the ball down, before placing a fierce strike into the corner of the goal, giving Reina no chance.
The response from Liverpool after that was faultless, as they showed champion-like spirit to fight their way back into the match. Given that Van Der Sar had not been beaten at Old Trafford in over four months, it was hard to see Liverpool getting back into the match, but that was exactly what they done.
On the 28th minute, after a hopeful long ball up to Torres, the highly consistent Nemanja Vidic let the ball bounce, which was a clinical mistake. The pace of Torres exploited Vidic, who lost out in a challenge with Torres, allowing one of the best strikers in world football a free run at the United goal. Torres seemed quite nervous in his approach, taking various touches, but the finish was far from nervous. The Spaniard waited for the large frame of Van Der Sar to leave his goal-line, before steering a beautiful finish into the bottom corner of the goal.
A draw still favoured United, and so the game was beautifully poised. Torres and Gerrard combined with a beautiful give-and-go, which let Gerrard expose Patrice Evra, who is not exactly slow. Evra, knowing if he left it any longer, Gerrard would have a free effort at goal, knew he had to make his last-ditch challenge. However, it was mistimed, and he took the man and not the ball. Penalty.
And it was Gerrard himself that took the penalty. Van Der Sar, similar to Reina, guessed the right way, but could not move quick enough. And so, Liverpool went in at half-time with a 2-1 lead, a scoreline by which they had won the previous encounter between the two teams.
Liverpool are one of the best teams in the world at defending a lead, and Manchester United may be the best team in the world at exposing teams. The game was finely poised. The Champions came out in the second half knowing a draw would be enough to secure the title, and it was a backs-to-the-wall, all-hands-to-the-pump approach from the Merseyside team.
With that being said, United failed to create many opportunities, the two most memorable BOTH falling to Carlos Tevez. A routine chip ball over the top of the back four caught Liverpool sleeping, but Tevez snatched at his shot, sending it wide of the target. It should be noted Tevez seemed to be in an offside position, but it was not given, and hence the goal would have stood.
Ronaldo marauded down the wing and chipped a beautifully-weighted ball to Rooney at the back post, who steered his ball goalwards. Carlos Tevez fell on the goal-line and his claims for a penalty were waved away. The ball travelled past Tevez and past the far post.
And with Liverpool playing a counter-attack system, the threat of a third was ever-present. Gerrard made a typical cavalier run from midfield towards the exposed Vidic. Much like his colleague Torres in the first half, Gerrard had Vidic beaten for pace, and so the Serb cynically dragged him to the floor so as to stop a goal-scoring opportunity. He left Alan Wiley no choice but to reach into his pocket for his red card, ending a horrific day for the supposedly unbreachable Vidic.
Sir Alex Ferguson lifted his despairing head out of his hands just in time to see Fabio Aurelio place an inch-perfect free kick into the Stretford End goal, and the game was all but over. The floodgates had finally opened for Manchester United, as they leaked goals. Many of the Manchester United faithful had already left Old Trafford, and the players seemed to share a sense of defeat.
Gerrard could have made it four soon after, as a slip in the Manchester United defence allowed Ryan Babel possession on the penalty spot. Babel found Gerrard, who had been a nuisance all day with his late runs from midfield, and despite having all the space and time known to man, Gerrard wildly lashed at his shot and sent it high into the seating area.
Mancunian humiliation was consolidated when Reina's goal kick left the United backline completely flat-footed just inside stoppage time. The defence, for the fourth time in the game, had been exploited for pace, and Andrea Dossena found himself in a one-on-one goalscoring opportunity. The Italian lobbed the ball over a stranded Van Der Sar for his second goal in as many games.
The game has sent shockwaves throughout the footballing world, and in principal, proves two things conclusively. It proves Liverpool certainly do have the credentials to challenge for the league title, but do not have the consistency of Manchester United. The last two games have proved just how fruitful Liverpool's attacks can be, and although this season is not over just yet, it seems some of the Liverpudlian fanbase are already preparing themselves for next season.
It also proves that Manchester United are not invincible. After the match, Assistant Manager Mike Phelan said that Liverpool caught them on “a bad day at the office”, but I feel this rather belies the facts. Whilst it is true that man-mountain Vidic and the usually assuring Rio Ferdinand were not comfortable by any stretch of the imagination, this has to be attributed to Torres and Gerrard's partnership. Neither Anderson nor Carrick were able to suppress Gerrard, who was making typically-late runs from midfield at completely exposing the Manchester United centre backs. The reason for Manchester United's toothless attack could be attributed to the Lucas-Mascherano stronghold in the centre-midfield berth.
So maybe it was another tactical masterstroke from Rafael Benitez, or maybe it was the Liverpool players applying themselves more in an archetypal big game. One thing is certain, it has to be back to the drawing board for Sir Alex Ferguson; manager of the side who have found themselves a goal up twice against their opponents from down the M62, and have twice been defeated.
And so, we finish with a quiz question. Who was the only team to do the double over United in the last campaign?
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