Fernando Torres and substitute David Ngog left Manchester United
reeling as Liverpool brilliantly halted their four-game losing streak.
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez had said prior to the game that one
win would change everything, and what a result his team delivered to
ease the pressure on the Spaniard.
The champions were eventually beaten after a stunning performance of
defiance that followed days of the worst crisis Liverpool have suffered
in decades.
If the critics were to be believed, boss Benitez was for the chop, Liverpool were all washed up and facing financial ruin.
Well not after this cracking Premier League battle. Liverpool
restored their pride with a victory over, for them, the best victims
possible.
Torres forced his injured frame through the game and grabbed his
ninth goal of the campaign midway through the second half to get
Liverpool really firing.
Ngog hit the second in stoppage-time, with the match at boiling
point. United had by that stage lost defender Nemanja Vidic to his
third red card in successive matches against Liverpool.
Javier Mascherano saw red too, but it was Liverpool who inflicted
the second league defeat of the season on United to restore faith among
their worried fans.
As expected, Steven Gerrard missed the match with a groin problem,
but Wayne Rooney recovered from a calf injury to play for the champions.
Liverpool had Torres and Glen Johnson back after both missed the
Champions League defeat to Lyon on Tuesday, while United also had Ryan
Giggs, Patrice Evra and Michael Carrick back in their starting line-up.
Michael 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.
The banner that hurt most, no doubt, was "You told us to come back when we'd won 18 titles...well, we're back".
Watching on were 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.
Evra was booked after two trips on Torres in as many minutes, and
from the free-kick Fabio Aurelio sent in a curled effort that Edwin van
der Sar clawed away. It went straight to Dirk Kuyt, whose follow-up was
also saved by his Dutch countryman.
Then Lucas 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.
Then 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 Rio
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 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. The
roof almost came off Anfield too.
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.
Owen's arrival was greeted with jeers and chants of "Where were you in Istanbul?" as well as "Once a Manc, never a Red".
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 cross-shot clip the Liverpool bar and Owen was
searching for any inch of space. He almost had a chance when he chased
a throughball, only to be hauled down by his good friend Jamie
Carragher. The Liverpool skipper was booked.
With just a minute of normal time left, Vidic pulled down Kuyt as
the Dutchman 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 Argentinian's second yellow-card offence.
Then came the killer blow to United. Liverpool broke from deep
defence, Lucas delayed his pass to sent Ngog away on his own and the
striker slid the second past Van der Sar. Anfield, and Benitez, could
finally celebrate.
Teams:
Liverpool Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Insua, Lucas, Mascherano, Benayoun (Skrtel 90), Kuyt, Aurelio, Torres (Ngog 80).
Subs Not Used: Cavalieri, Voronin, Babel, Spearing, Degen.
Sent Off: Mascherano (90).
Booked: Mascherano, Carragher.
Goals: Torres 65, Ngog 90.
Man Utd Van der Sar, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Scholes (Nani 74), Giggs, Berbatov (Owen 74), Rooney.
Subs Not Used: Foster, Neville, Anderson, Fabio Da Silva,
Jonathan Evans.
Sent Off: Vidic (90).
Booked: Evra, Berbatov, Vidic.
Att: 44,188
Ref: Andre Marriner (W Midlands).
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