© EuroFootball.com
On Saturday in Liverpool, at the "Anfield" stadium, the two most titled English teams - "Liverpool" and "Manchester United" teams - met. The victory was celebrated by the guests with a minimal lead.
In the match, which is considered one of the fiercest in England, the new "Liverpool" striker Fernando Morientes made his debut, but he was unable to prevent the opponents from winning the important victory.
The decisive moment of the match came in the 22nd minute when the home team goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek missed a not very dangerous shot from Wayne Rooney. Seven minutes later, "Man Utd" almost increased their lead, but this time after a shot from R.Keane, it was saved by the crossbar.
Despite defender Wes Brown being sent off in the 64th minute for a second yellow card, the guests deserved the victory, allowing them to stay in the race for the title.
Match chronology and statistics:
0 - 1
22' [0 - 1]
Congratulations to the "Red Devils" fans, and this afternoon being with you was me, Linas Kojala, saying goodbye. Until the next matches.
Ended.
90+3' Everything! The final whistle of the referee signals the end of the match and the victory for "Man Utd"!
90+3' Great pass to F.S.Pongolle, but it is stopped by P.Neville. It looks like everything is already over.
90+1' "Liverpool" misses great opportunities! J.Carragher's shot is only blocked by R.Carroll with his leg.
88' A.Nunez receives a yellow card.
87' Another mistake by L.Garcia. A bad day for the Spaniard.
85' The home team's attempts to move the ball into the penalty area end unsuccessfully.
82' Q.Fortuna, who has just appeared on the field, also earns an alert for holding J.Carragher's shirt.
81' G.Heinze receives a yellow card.
81' Dangerous header by I.Biscan, but R.Carroll handles it reliably.
80' At the same time, "Man Utd" responds - Q.Fortuna enters instead of the striker L.Saha.
79' The last "Liverpool" substitution - D.Hamman leaves the field, and I.Biscan enters instead of him.
77' The hosts play quite one-sided, lacking creativity.
76' M.Baros confuses two defenders, enters the penalty area, but at the last moment, the ball is cleared by P.Neville.
74' Another substitution by the hosts. F.Morientes, who played poorly in the first half, is replaced by A.Nunez.
72' "Liverpool" strengthens the attacking line. Instead of the well-performing J.A.Riise, the striker F.S.Pongolle appears on the field.
66' Alex Ferguson reinforces the defense. Instead of C.Ronaldo, J.O'Shea appears on the field. The Portuguese is unhappy with this decision.
63' W.Brown brings down J.A.Riise and receives a second yellow card! The guests are left with ten men! A great opportunity for the hosts.
61' We can expect the first substitutions soon. R.Benitez needs to liven up the game somehow.
58' Milan Baros hits his head and goes out of bounds. He will be able to continue the match.
55' "Man Utd" looks slightly better than the opponents, the hosts try to break through the opponents' defense with high passes.
53' L.Garcia rushes on the left side, but loses the ball.
52' Another corner kick near the hosts' goal, the defenders clear the ball.
49' Great pass from J.A.Riise to F.Morientes, but his shot is blocked by the well-playing Argentine G.Heinze!
47' "Man Utd" gets two consecutive corner kicks near the hosts' goalkeepers, but both times the defenders clear the ball away from the goal.
46' L.Garcia dangerously shoots from 20 meters, but the ball flies next to the goalpost.
45' The second half begins!
Some statistics. Ball possession is about the same, with "Liverpool" controlling a bit more of it (51% to 49%). The hosts also shoot more towards the goal - 6 shots to 5. In the corner kick statistics, the hosts have a clear advantage again. They got 6 corner kicks, while the guests only got one. "Man Utd" leads in fouls. The guests committed 11 fouls, while the hosts committed 9.
Halftime
45' The first half ends. "Man Utd" leads thanks to J.Dudek's mistake.
43' Another pass to F.Morientes, this time a header fails. Nevertheless, the Spaniard is playing quite dangerously.
42' D.Hamann takes the ball at the center of the field and passes it to L.Garcia, who passes it to F.Morientes! The Spaniard stops the ball with his chest, but the shot is deflected next to the goal. A good opportunity.
41' "Man Utd" plays a bit more solid and organized. This is probably influenced by the short time spent by both "Liverpool" newcomers in the new team.
40' L.Saha rushes on the left side, but the attempt to pass the ball into the penalty area was unsuccessful.
39' After the second corner kick in the penalty area, S.Hyypia falls, but the referee does not award a penalty kick.
39' S.Gerrard's shot is deflected off P.Neville and goes out of bounds.
36' "Man Utd" takes control of the game and completely neutralizes F.Morientes. The Spaniard has not touched the ball for about ten minutes.
32' P.Scholes pulls S.Gerrard's jersey, and he responds with an elbow shot! P.Scholes falls, but the referee does not show any cards and does not stop the game.
31' R.Keane shoots! Crossbar! J.Dudek doesn't reach the ball. Another great opportunity for the guests!
31' W.Brown receives a yellow card for a foul against M.Baroš.
28' J.A.Riise shoots after a corner kick, but hits M.Baroš directly.
26' S.Gerrard's shot from about 30 meters flies over the goal, but is touched by one of the defenders in the wall. Another corner kick.
25' J.Carragher receives a yellow card for a rough foul.
24' Another mistake by J.Dudek that could cost dearly. Rumors are circulating that R.Benitez wants to attract "Real" goalkeeper Cesar.
23' A dangerous header by G.Heinze after a corner kick! Beside the goal! The hosts seem a bit confused, and it looks like someone from the stands threw a cell phone at W.Rooney.
22' W.Rooney gets too much space, and his shot from about 25 meters flies under J.Dudek! The Polish goalkeeper's mistake clearly upsets R.Benitez.
22' Goal! "Man Utd" leads! W.Rooney!
19' M.Baroš confuses M.Silvestre and passes the ball to F.Morientes! At the last moment, his shot is blocked by G.Heinze.
18' Active play by L.Garcia causes problems for the "Red Devils" defense.
17' F.Morientes shoots after a corner kick, but the defenders direct the ball out of bounds. Another J.Carragher attempt to lift the ball into the penalty area results in another corner kick, and the hosts earn a corner kick.
15' "Liverpool" increasingly shoots high passes and tries to exploit F.Morientes' game with the head. So far, all the balls are caught by R.Carroll.
12' The main battle will take place in the safe area... Will R.Keane be able to stop S.Gerrard?
11' The game calms down a bit.
10' S.Gerrard tries to pass the ball to F.Morientes, but the ball is caught by R.Carroll.
8' W.Brown blocks Luis Garcia's shot from 25 meters. A bit later, "Liverpool" earns a penalty kick, but nothing dangerous happens.
6' The first chance for the guests! A great C.Ronaldo pass to the penalty area, but at the last moment the ball is cleared by S.Hyypia. The Finn saves the team, otherwise L.Saha would have shot completely free.
4' J.Carragher brings down G.Heinze and receives criticism from the referee. Heinze continues the game limping.
1' Great throw-in by J.A.Riise, but Luis Garcia doesn't reach the ball. "Liverpool" starts the match more energized, delighting the packed "Anfield" stadium.
0' The match begins! The ball is first controlled by the guests wearing black uniforms.
Breaking news:
Liverpool coach R.Benitez included both winter acquisitions - F.Morientes and M.Pellegrino in the starting lineup. Meanwhile, Alex Ferguson unexpectedly put the unreliable R.Carroll in goal. It was recently revealed that "Man Utd" striker A.Smith will not appear in the match due to injury. He was replaced by D.Bellion.
Starting lineups:
Liverpool
1 Jerzy Dudek
0 Mauricio Pellegrino
23 Jamie Carragher
4 Sami Hyypia
21 Djimi Traoré
10 Luis Garcia
16 Dietmar Hamann
18 John Arne Riise 72'
8 Steven Gerrard
19 Fernando Morientes 74'
5 Milan Baros
Substitutions:
25 Igor Biscan 79'
8 Wayne Rooney
9 Louis Saha
Substitutions:
12 David Bellion
14 Tim Howard
17 Liam Miller
22 John O'Shea 67'"
