There is always one moment in every season when, for the team that is going to finish as champions, everything clicks, the worrying stops, all the hard work comes together and everyone knows it is going to be a year to remember.
Before we even go on to speak about our defeat at the hands of the hated Mancs, a big shout out to our sponsors BeDigital who have helped spread the word of Malaysian RED and WHITE KOPites to all over the Klang Valley. We also had visitors from Singapore (Lai and guys great of you to join us in our festivities). Also last but not least Danny, our lad from Liverpool.
Welcome to Malaysia!
Manchester United had already made a convincing case for being the superior team by the time Mascherano paid the price for his dissent. The gulf in class then became wide enough to resemble an embarrassment for Benítez, his players and everyone associated with Liverpool, not least those supporters who were plunged into such a state of shock even their final chorus of "You'll never walk alone" was cut short.
What was obvious in Sundays game was that we were outplayed a lot of the time, even with 11 men. We had our moments in the 2nd half but somehow, everyone chose Sunday to have an off day on the pitch.
Torres was locked out of the game but there is to be no excuse for Steven Gerrard to misplace passes and make bad decisions with the ball in possession. The players we have, still lack flair and creativity as I've often argued. When we play teams that park buses in front of their goal or purely tactical teams, many a times we cannot penetrate and score the goal that counts.
That much I would agree.
But to have to read through all that shite that has been spewing and will spew forth is totally *&!^&#%^!#*^#!. I don't even have the words to describe my feelings.
Don't even get me started on the 1st 2 goals and the Man of the Match, Mr Bennett.
As much as Mascherano deserved to be cautioned for being in the ref's face, he did so only to ask why Torres was booked instead of Scholes who hacked him down. Torres received no protection at all while Sir Alex Ferguson moaning about his pet Cristiano Ronaldo not getting protection from tackles were drawing free kicks all over the place.
Liverpool were dismantled from A to Z, losing to Wes Brown's first goal in almost three years, Cristiano Ronaldo's 34th of the season and a scorching effort from Nani.
The ref also failed to understand and take in the scale of the game and the passion that flows within it when fierce, eternal rivals meet. Tackles will fly and players will fooking curse but the scum was getting cautions for their transgressions while our 1st offences were punished by either cards or freekicks in dangerous positions.
The referee did let himself down but that was later in the game when, in quick succession, Fernando Torres left Nemanja Vidic on the floor and Alvaro Arbeloa brought down Ryan Giggs. Both Liverpool players had already been booked but Bennett appeared to lose his nerve.
Liverpool needed all the help they could get because, at times, they were abject. The frenetic pace of these matches always ensures a higher number of misplaced passes than usual but, even so, Benítez will be alarmed by his team's inability to keep possession and, when they did have the ball, there was a lack of gumption or wit to do anything with it.
It was bewildering, for example, to see Steven Gerrard misdirecting so many passes. Sadly for the manager, the same cannot be said of some of Gerrard's team-mates as they disappeared to the edges. It says everything about United's dominance, with Wayne Rooney at the hub of just about everything, that Edwin van der Sar managed to go the entire game without getting a single scuff of mud on his shorts.
Mark Lee is right and Rafa said it best. Heads up my friends! Walk on.
How the managers compared
Selection
Sir Alex Ferguson Opted for the most experienced line-up at his disposal and, although hindered by a back problem, Rio Ferdinand's return was a no-brainer given his record against Liverpool
Rafael Benítez With only midweek internationals to fret over, and his team in fine form, starting with the side that defeated Reading was a natural choice
Tactics
Ferguson The plan to stifle Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres worked to perfection
Benítez Had no reason to alter the tactics that had brought seven successive victories but the weaknesses of the system were exposed as his main assets were left isolated
Goals:
Brown ( 34' ) , Ronaldo ( 79' ) , Nani ( 81' )
Manchester United:
(4-2-3-1)
Edwin Van der Sar, Wes Brown, Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Luis de Abreu Anderson (Carlos Tevez , 73 ), Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs (Luis Carlos Nani , 73 ), Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney
Liverpool :
(4-2-3-1)
Jose Manuel Reina, Alvaro Arbeloa, Fabio Aurelio, Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel, Xabi Alonso, Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, Ryan Babel (Yossi Benayoun , 66 ), Dirk Kuyt, Fernando Torres (John Arne Riise , 83 )
Referee:
Steve Bennett
Venue:
Old Trafford
Attendance:
76,000
Man of the match:
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Corners:
Manchester United - 2
Liverpool - 4
Goal Attempts:
Manchester United - 23
Liverpool - 8
On Target:
Manchester United - 16
Liverpool - 4
Booked:
Manchester United: Ferdinand ( 60 )
Liverpool: Mascherano ( 11 ) , Mascherano ( 44 ) ,
Torres ( 44 ) , Arbeloa ( 53 )
15 comments:
One of the most disappointing results in a long, long time. The game was as good as over the minute Masch got sent off. But credit to the Reds for playing the game with 10 and not putting up a bus for damage limitation. Here's hoping for some glory in the CL.
Would have been so much more contented had Masch got sent off kicking the crap out of the Portuguese girl.
Anybody wanna bet on what I would've done if I was in the field? Bloody furious with the diving champ and the prick in black.
250976Reiggie, I think we should cut out the swear words here, it's an international site, not that nice if we have people all over the world logging on to see that we are just like any hooligans. Unnescessary swear word I mean. There are other words that we can use, although I do agree with your description of the said individual, but, let's try not to expose it as this is not a forum.
i dislike the word 'fooking' and any other heavy words, because you might have young readers.
for one, actually i really love to see graphical tactical analysis of games and certainly a game as big as this deserves at least analysis in writing. what was RB's idea, how it would have worked against AF's team before kickoff, what really happened and the overall performance of the selected tactic etc.
used to see graphical interpretation/explanation on goals, which were really nice. i think world cup and euro we always see these kind of thing in paper right? sweat.gif i understand it takes time and effort to do.
@jonc
dei ... i know u wanted to do a rocky balboa upper cut to the dude in black....
sorry jonno... edited my post... didnt realise that this was an open open for all to see..lol....
It's hardly nuclear physics. Did you need to key in a password to enter a comment? Sigh, young and naive :)
No swearing?
Steve Bennet can fooking fook off!
There, go FOOKING digest that!
As fer kids reading this site, any idiot above the age of 10 could clearly make out what Stevie G was indicating to the ref . . .
swearing is so uncool
i'm sometimes uncool :P
but it certainly doesnt make us look any wiser
dear piko pita,
Like it or not, swearing forms an integral part of our language, especially in football. What would terrace chants be like without the choice swear word or two.
Besides, swear words help express disgust, anger & frustration; all of which I am still going thru in the aftermath of that game.
So fer me, it is a legitimate form of expression.
Fer more choice language, please visit me blog at http://anfielddevotee.blogspot.com/ - Its called "Fer Fook's Sake", me thinks you'll like it . . .
anfield devotee
i too was cursing bennet during the match. dont seem cool myself, have to admit that.
agree that cursin' doesnt always mean we are angry, its like you said, a form of espression that is widely used to convey many other kinds of feelings.
pardon me my poor english, i was merely trying to say that when people provoke you, lets be calm and fight back intelligently. although i do have to admit, thats not something many would do in football, let alone life...
our enemies can manipulate our emotions if we cannot control them. bennet is a (fookin') idiot, no question. but in the end, nobody make zidane and masch heroes.
hey i like your site.
cheers mate.
by the way, i'm 'petre' from LYN. cheers to all of you guys here. :)
Didn't say you can't swear here, it's just that Reggie's choice of words are a little uncalled for. I am ok with the fooks and fcuks, but merely adding a swear word for the sake of it is more uncool. Let's kick the blueshite's arses tomorrow!!!
manipulation - this is one thing the man scums does best to remain top of the game. they do that to opposing players, the match officials and even to the rules of the game. how else would u explain that their most compulsive diver has not even got any sanctions when his acts hv been well documented over the seasons. by any definitions of the game, he is in fact, bringing disrepute to the english game and making a fool of the english league and its commissioners...
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