Liverpool vs Man utd

Man Utd Vs Liverpool

Anfield

Sunday 28th Jan 2012

     Ever seen a classic game of English football. You surely would have if you watched the North Western derby this afternoon. It had everything the media wanted. Plenty of (non)penalty desicions to talk about, plenty of pace, one crunching unpunished two footed challenge, and a mistake from the man who was getting boo-ed ever since he first touched the ball.

   Liverpool may have not handled the Suarez issue well but you definitely can't say the same about their consecutive meetings with the two Manchester sides this week. They knocked City out of the Carling Cup, and now met a make-shift Red Devil's side and won 2-1. 

  Anfield was loud, so loud it gave me a headache. Manchester United sent out a smake shift side riddled with injuries. De Gea was one avoidable change as Anders Lindergaard was well and fit, and you don't normally send an arguably weak and areially fragile shotstopper in for a game like this. The mid-field had a bit of pace in the form of Valencia but was otherwise built on only expirience with Giggs, Carrick, Park and Scholes getting the nod. Rafael, Smalling and Evans partnered by the man who all the spotlight was on Patrice Evra. Welbeck was the lone striker.Wayne Rooney failed to recover from injury in time for the tie.

  Liverpool's defence had Enrique, Agger, Skrtel and Kelly, while Carragher was employed in a holding medfeild role, most probably to open the width up for Rodriguez, Henderson and Downing

while Andy Carroll waited for those aerial balls.

  The game was started by Manchester United.  The first shot took just 4 more minutes and came from a rather desperate try from 25 yards by rodriguez. United's corner marking was rather akward and the mass of bodies of Evans, Carroll, Agger and Smalling was right in front of the ever complaining David de Gea. The Spaniard could do nothing however for the first goal which came from the head of Agger, unmarked by Smalling and off a corner. Rafael had just left the second post when he had to change direction. Only if he had stayed.

  But United domination followed as plays were ocused onto the right wing by the attacking Rafael and the new big game player for United, Valencia. Scholes lay clever passes all around as he changed the course of play like he'd never been away.

  At the 39th, Jose Enrique lost out near the corner to Rafael, and the brazillian who had been strong all afternoon captiliased with a pass int the d to Park wo calmly slooted it in past watching Welbeck and diving Reina.

 United domination followed and United were the best team on the field for majoriy of the first half and a little of the second.

 Then the substitutions. Maybe the most vital game was the inclusion of Adam by Daglish and the withdrawal of Scholes by Sir Alex. The midfield turned all red. United relied on the back four to play to their strengths and catch Liverpool on the counterattack as the red-devils launched attack after attack at the men in blue and black. And knocking paid of in the 88th minute. And it had to be Evra. The french man went to sleep while marking the freshly introduced Dirk Kuyt. A ball from Reina, cleverly controlled by Carroll(who came alive after Bellamy's introduction for the last 20) fell behind united's line as the unsuspecting Evans played Kuyt onside. And the rest is what the Red is known for as he cleverly slotted it past De Gea's feet into the net.

  Carroll almost got a third but failed.

Why was scholes off.......why did de gea play on......unanswered questions....but the psychological blow is immense, not least because Liverpool were always second best on the pitch as Stevie G later told ITV.