Dirk Kuyt's late strike earned Liverpool a dramatic victory over Manchester United in the FA Cup fourth round at Anfield.
The tie seemed destined for a replay at Old Trafford as Ji-Sung
Park's powerful shot put United level after Daniel Agger had headed
Liverpool into the lead - but there was a late twist to a surprisingly
flat encounter.
Liverpool substitute Kuyt escaped the attentions of Patrice Evra with
two minutes left to latch on to Andy Carroll's flick and fire past
United goalkeeper David de Gea in front of an ecstatic Kop.
It capped a perfect four days for Liverpool and manager Kenny
Dalglish after reaching the Carling Cup final and their first Wembley
appearance since 1996 at the expense of Manchester City on Wednesday,
then sending their fierce rivals out of the FA Cup to reach the last 16.
United have now failed to win at Anfield since 2007 and manager Sir
Alex Ferguson saw a gamble on keeper De Gea fail to reap dividends as
the young Spaniard endured a desperate afternoon.
He failed to command his area for Agger's opener then brought
pressure on United in the second half with his inability to complete a
simple clearance in his area and mishandling that did nothing to ease
mounting Liverpool pressure.
United were without Wayne Rooney as he recovered from knee and ankle
injuries while De Gea was restored in goal with Anders Lindegaard
dropping to the bench.
De Gea was in action in the third minute as he dived to his right to
turn away Maxi Rodriguez's low shot as Liverpool attempted to take
control early on.
It was United, however, who dominated possession with Paul Scholes
the orchestrator of a game that was played at a tempo that suited
Ferguson's side.
Ryan Giggs tested Reina with a low shot and the dangerous Antonio
Valencia struck the outside of an upright - but it was Liverpool who
took the lead after 21 minutes.
United keeper De Gea was unable to make his presence felt in the
company of Carroll at Steven Gerrard's corner, allowing Agger to take
advantage of the uncertainty to head home.
Liverpool went into retreat after scoring, allowing United to enjoy a
lengthy spell of possession that concluded with Park's leveller six
minutes before the interval.
Jose Enrique should have dealt with a ball into the corner, but he
hesitated and allowed Rafael to cross for Park to thump a powerful
finish into the bottom corner beyond Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina, who
had no chance.
Martin Skrtel had to be alert after the restart to rescue Liverpool
after Danny Welbeck flicked a pass past Reina towards an unguarded goal.
Liverpool were being offered hope by the uncertainty of United keeper
De Gea, who put his defence under pressure when he failed to complete a
simple clearance then allowed a cross to slip through his hands to
needlessly concede a corner.
Dalglish then used his substitutes in quick succession, sending on
Charlie Adam and Kuyt for Maxi and Jamie Carragher before throwing Craig
Bellamy into the fray in place of tiring captain Gerrard with 18
minutes left.
It prompted Ferguson to make a change of his own as Javier Hernandez
took the place of Scholes, who had barely wasted a pass in any area of
the pitch.
In his absence Liverpool were able to push United back towards their own goal and the winning strike came with two minutes left.
Reina's clearance was flicked on by Carroll and Evra lost Kuyt,
allowing the striker to beat De Gea with a low shot in front an exultant
Kop.
Kuyt could have made it 2-0 moments later when Carroll crashed a
header against the angle of post and crossbar but the striker stabbed
the rebound wide.
It made no difference as there was no way back for United.
Hi Guys! This Blog is about my opinion regarding on the environment that is surrounding my LIFE. So just order one TEH TARIK KAU & one ROTI BANJIR and then let TALK la.........
Me
- Hisham
- Hisham is a graduate from Institute of Technology MARA (UiTM) majoring in culinary arts. Since his early days at the Hotel Istana, Hisham embarked on an adventurous journey honing and shaping his culinary skills working at JW Marriott Kuala Lumpur, Villa Danieli Restaurant at Sheraton Imperial Hotel, SHOOK Restaurant @ Starhill Gallery, Prince Court Medical Center and Azamara Cruise Line under the parent company of Royal Caribbean International Cruise Line, to name just a few. So you guys already knowing me. Come On, Join Me Talking @Mamak
My Family
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment