http://bloglfc.co.uk/impressive-liverpool-draw-against-united/ In what turned out to be a frustrating afternoon for Liverpoolâs fans, in which they saw their sides 1-0 lead slip away late on in the game with substitute Hernandez heading home an equaliser after the returning captain Steve Gerrard opened the scoring with a neat free-kick. Liverpoolâs starting eleven saw the inclusion of the returning Steven Gerrard who replaced Andy Carroll in a 4-2-3-1 formation, the captain lined up behind Suarez with Lucas and Charlie Adam in holding roles. The match marked a year of ownership under FSG sports group and John Henry. Unitedâs line up was a much more controversial one with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Nani left on the substitutes bench amongst others, with Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic not being included at all having featured in mid-week for his national side. Danny Welbeck led the line for a rather defensive looking United line-up that was almost an exact copy of Liverpools, Phil Jones and Darren Fletcher occupied the two holding midfield roles. Liverpool, like in previous encounters, started the game brightly but it was Manchester United who had the first real chance early on with Phil Jones heading Patrice Evraâs cross in to the side netting of the Liverpool goal. It was then Luis Suarez who had the chance to put the hosts in front after an impressive run by Charlie Adam from midfield. The Uruguayan turned Johnny Evans before seeing his tame left footed shot saved by David De Gea. It was Liverpool who finished the first half the more impressive although failed to create any clear cut chances with Luis Suarez failing to connect with Steven Gerrardâs in-swinging cross. It was Ashley Young who then gave Pepe Reina his first job of the match, the Spaniard scrambled to collect an Ashley Young free-kick early on in the second half. Liverpool then had a penalty claim turned down after Dirk Kuytâs effort struck the arm of Evans although such a decision would have been deemed harsh on the Northern Irishman. Liverpoolâs break-through eventually came after a surging run by Charlie Adam in midfield came to a halt after slight contact from Rio Ferdinand who may have been fortunate not be sent of for a second yellow card after the free-kick was awarded. Much like Gerrardâs free-kick last season in which he shot the ball through a gap in the United wall it was a case of deja vu for the skipper as Ryan Giggs seemingly moved out of the way of his free-kick that left De Gea rooted to the spot with Gerrard himself admitting that he wanted to get the ball above the wall. Following Liverpoolâs lead Alex Ferguson inevitably brought on a trio of attacking substitutes with Rooney and Nani, then Javier Hernandez taking field for their side. It was the Mexican striker that grabbed the equaliser for United, his excellent movement meant that he was in the perfect position to head home after a flick-on by Danny Welbeck following consecutive corners by United. Liverpoolâs substitution Jordan Henderson then looked very lively himself and saw his excellent chip saved by the impressive De Gea although he had an even better chance later on, heading over Stewart Downingâs cross as Liverpool surged forward in hope of an equaliser. The game finished with the 1-1 scoreline, perhaps disappointing for Liverpool considering their dominance although Kenny Dalglish explained that the very fact a draw against the Champions may be seen as disappointing is a positive in it self, showing the great progress the club has made in itâs year of new ownership. ------------ A really impressive performance and hopefully a sign of thinks to come, hopefully the return of Gerrard means more goals instead of over-relying on Carroll and Suarez. Expect to see another article up soon, probably one analysing Jose Enrique's fine start to life at Anfield
Good stuff and trying to be as fair as a Liverpool fan can be so if there are Man Utd fans commenting keep it civil. Please.
Am i the only one, who thought it was dull? Two evenly matched teams, set up to cancel each other out. Before Gerrard's goal, it had 0-0 written all over it.
No you're not wrong. I felt the crowd was a bit flat comaped to last year and the team was a bit too. Utd came for a draw and in teh end got what they wanted. Though playing phil jones in CM is a big indicator of something... carrick... hmmmmmmm.... I thought we'd be a bit dissapointe dbut suarez played utd's defence off the park, kuyt and downing let us down a bit. enrique was imperious and gerrard as slightly off the pace but you could see he'll improve with games. all in all a result i'd gladly have taken as the start of the day.
I find it funny how well written and good articles such as this get very few comments, yet anything controversial or blatent wumming seems to get everyone wanting to comment. Good article OP.
Felt like the teams were only interested in a draw, both teams made to many errors and could have been far more entertaining especially after SAF stating its a better match compared to Barca & Madrid, we will do them at OT..
The game was dissapointing, I would rather have seen both our teams include all the best players and just go for it and see what happens.
Interesting spin on things. I think "Second string United team denied victory by lucky goal" is more accurate.
Fergies wised up a bit more in recent years. He knows not to lose if he can to the other protaginists if he can. He set up for a draw, can we nick the first goal, formation, and got his result in the end... From Keenys perspective i was disappointed that we didnt have more of a go at them, but maybe we were playing for the 'better off not losing this game' mentality also... It certainly wasnt the gung ho games that we have had in the past, but the last 20mins were good enough for it to be remembered... A point is a point... Lets not kid ourselves how far bahind the mancs we are...
I felt they showed us a lot of respect by parking the bus and hoping for the best they could get which was a draw.
I wouldn't say it was parking the bus as although Liverpool dominated possesion I didn't think our goal was constantly under threat. It certainly was a defensive set up though.
To be honest I reckon Dalglish set his team up to play against Utd with Rooney and Nani starting, i.e. expecting us to attack more and leave gaps at the back. I reckon SAF's formation and player selection caught him and Liverpool by surprise, which was why Liverpool had so little purpose in the first half and the half itself was so dire. At half time he had a chance to switch it around a bit more and try to cope better, which is why you guys had the better of the second half. I just wish we hadn't conceded right before Rooney and Nani came on cos we could well have snatched a 1-0 win in that case.
How did we park the bus ? by setting out the same formation as you ? United simply showed Liverpool the respect they deserved after our last few results at Anfield.
