It had to be. It had to be Dirk Kuyt finally ending a long
goal drought. It had to be Patrice Evra who was caught sleeping on defense. It
had to be Andy Carroll creating the whole play. It had to be in front of the
KOP. It had to be. These are the games that make the Liverpool – Manchester United
rivalry great; a lot of pre-game tension, an attack oriented game at break neck
pace, and of course some fantastic late game drama.
The match went back and forth for ninety minutes. At first
it looked like Man U was the home squad, possessing the ball and moving it
around the Liverpool defense but unable to penetrate the eighteen. Then
Liverpool scored off a corner in the 21st minute thanks to Daniel Agger
delivered by the skipper Steven Gerrard, immediately putting United back on
their heels. Come the 35th minute the Red Devils were back at it
again, possessing the ball trying to break down the Liverpool defense.
Eventually they got their chance and converted it into a goal thanks to one of their
most reliable players, Park Ji-Sung, equalizing the score right before the
half.
Come the second half Liverpool needed some changes
desperately. Jamie Carragher was not delivering in the midfield and Maxi, while
making some good chances earlier in the game, seemed to become invisible on the
wing. Charlie Adam and Dirk Kuyt were chosen to showcase their abilities on the
pitch in the 63rd minute. Both players have had rough seasons and
even though they have been criticized by both the fans and media (including
myself) they put on their big boy pants and got the job done.
After having a very difficult but successful fixture against
Manchester City just three days earlier, Liverpool had to make some changes to
their starting lineup in order to rest some players. However Dalglish made some
difficult but smart decisions by starting Kelly, Carroll, Carragher, and Maxi;
resting Bellamy, Kuyt, Johnson, and Adam, and having them come off the bench.
Every player on the field was energized ready to play. With a match of this
importance the home fans certainly delivered by never letting there be a quiet
moment in the stadium. Even after United equalized the fans were still singing,
doing everything they possibly could. This was certainly a factor in the
difference between the two teams.
As of late I have given Andy Carroll a lot of crap. While I
won’t take everything back that I said, I will say the man deserved a lot of
credit today by showing a lot of heart, hustle, and skill. He made a good
target man by fighting for the ball in the air and delivering aerial through
balls to his players, especially his header to Kuyt in the 88th
which gave them the win. I do hope this gives him some real confidence and he
continues to improve. Is he worth the 35 million price tag? No, not yet. Can he
improve to where he will eventually be worth that much? It’s possible and only
time will tell, but this is a step in the right direction.
Kuyt Celebrates his 68th goal for the Reds
I am a huge Dirk Kuyt fan. While he doesn’t have the flair
and ball skills of most strikers, he possesses great positioning, finishing, incredibly
honed technical skill, and, last but certainly not least, a nearly unparalleled
mental toughness (coincidentally only to be matched by Park Ji-Sung). Today
that toughness paid off with his late match goal slotting it past David De Gea
for the win. Martin Kelly played Right Back in place of Glen Johnson for today’s
fixture. Where he lacks in the offensive ability of Glen, he makes up for in
defense and toughness. The whole game he fought in the back against the likes
of both Giggs and Evra, shutting down many chances that would have been created
otherwise. He can certainly walk out of Anfield with his head raised high after
a performance like that.
Manchester United also had their fair share of excellent
play today. Both Giggs and Scholes really controlled the midfield offensively
for a large portion of the game. Even when they couldn’t break down the
Liverpool defense, they were patient in trying to find another way in, always
controlling the play from the center. I’m sure no one expects any less from the
two legendary veterans. While I am most certainly not a United fan I always
enjoy watching Park-Ji Sung play. He is a tough player whose cage no one can
rattle. In any big game he will step up with ice in his veins and deliver,
today was no different for him. With every game Antonio Valencia improves. He
has that rare ability to both incredibly strong and very quick. This makes it a
nightmare for any defender to get the ball from him, the best anyone can do is
just contain him. While possessing a lot of ball skill, he also isn’t afraid to
take chances, if he sees the open lane he’ll take it, this was seen by the
rocket he sent into which hit the post early in the first half of the match.
Manchester United’s failure today will probably fall upon
the shoulders of keeper David De Gea. For the first goal he is to blame by
coming too far off his line chasing Andy Carroll near the six, which gave Agger
plenty of room to head the ball in off of the corner (plus it dinked off of De
Gea’s head which I’m sure the English media will have a field day with). He
nearly made the same mistake again just ten minutes later, but lucky for him it
was a poorly taken corner and he was able to come out unscathed. The fans and
media are getting frustrated with the Spanish keeper and Fergie is finding it increasingly
difficult to start De Gea over his competition for the spot, Anders Lindegaard.
Things are looking good at Anfield currently. Just a week
ago fans and supporters were screaming for any kind of change in the
organization seeing the team go into a downward spiral. However one week can
make all the difference in the world. In just three days Liverpool have single
handedly knocked out the top two teams in the Premiership out of two different
cups. They are starting to really look like a team and definitely are playing
like one. If they keep this intensity up they will soon find themselves on a
nice run gaining points everywhere they go. Their first Premier game in over a
week will be against the Wolves on Tuesday January 31st at Molineux
Stadium. This fixture also marks the last game of Luis Suarez’s nine (total) match
ban. As the boys of Anfield have started playing with some real quality they
will soon be reunited with one of their best players, which is bad news for any
other team. Suarez’s first match back will be against Tottenham which they will
try to redeem themselves for the crushing 4-0 defeat earlier in the season.
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