It is a familiar scene now, the referee waving away an appeal from Suarez only for the replay to show the Uruguayan was more than justified. Yes, he used to dive, but he doesn’t any more. Can’t they accept that now, and start treating him like the other strikers? Man United 0-3 Liverpool: Two Gerrard penalties and Suarez down Moyes woeful Reds at Old Trafford... and skipper misses third spot-kick as Vidic is sent off As the Liverpool players cavorted in one corner, from the Stretford End came a roar of defiance. They were singing about the number of times Manchester United had been champions. Twenty. The last came less than a year ago but it already sounds like ancient history. The forlorn rebelliousness that used to be the preserve of Liverpool fans. Now they look forward on Merseyside. ‘Make us dream,’ read one banner. All the talk was of winning the league; and not in some distant era when it was called Division One, either. Liverpool have a chance in the here and now. They are four points behind leaders Chelsea, with a game in hand, to be played at home against Sunderland on March 26. Manchester City and Chelsea also have to visit Anfield in April. And this is a team in form. Justice was done at Old Trafford. The scoreline did not flatter Liverpool in the least, adding to the feeling of sea change. Liverpool have been coming to Manchester for 118 years and have won away to United on just 16 occasions. Even when they were the best team in the land this was not a happy hunting ground. I’ve come here and been played off the park, said man of the match Steven Gerrard. To come here and dominate from start to finish was a good feeling. Gerrard scored two penalties and missed a third, a fair return considering the first two were correctly awarded and the third wasn’t. Liverpool could have had another two penalties from referee Mark Clattenburg, however, and Manchester United should have been reduced to ten men after 34 minutes, so the champions got off lightly. Near the end, with captain Nemanja Vidic dismissed – wrongly, it really wasn’t Clattenburg’s best day – David Moyes sent on Rio Ferdinand for Juan Mata. Already trailing 3-0 with just three minutes of normal time remaining it seemed a bizarre move, but Moyes was merely trying to prevent complete humiliation – two late goals to establish the type of margin that can get a manager the sack. Even one with a six-year contract. It is easy, of course, to observe everything that happens at Old Trafford through the lens of Manchester United’s failings, as if the opposition are incidental. Yet this would do Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers a terrible disservice. They won thanks to their own sharpness and good planning, not merely because United are a team in steep decline. Liverpool had the better defence, the livelier midfield, the most dangerous forward line. Only Wayne Rooney, of the men in red, did not deserve to be on the losing side and even his performance was more perspiration than inspiration. As for Liverpool, where to start? How about at left-back where in Jon Flanagan the club appears to have found its equivalent of Gary Neville: the local lad with a grudge against the rivals and a uniquely personal appreciation of this fixture. Flanagan – sent off in a reserve match here last season for a minor assault on Adnan Januzaj – embodied Liverpool’s spirit. His energy level, his combativeness, were both on the north side of high. He was first in the book after 31 minutes but that didn’t stop him clattering into Rafael in the second-half – fairly, despite the Brazilian’s histrionics – and playing with a level of commitment that demonstrated what clubs lose when they stop mining talent close to home. Gerrard was very much a man on a mission, too. Yet Liverpool’s triumph was that, all over the pitch, players were putting their bodies on the line for this win. Luis Suarez was outstanding, as he has been all season, and the defence, including goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, held firm. PLAYER RATINGS Click here to see Ian Ladymans player ratings from Old Trafford Not that United offered the most testing resistance. It took them until the 44th minute to carve out a real opportunity, when great work from Januzaj put Rafael in, and his cross found Rooney who forced an excellent save from Mignolet, followed by a brave block from Martin Skrtel. Robin Van Persie, insipid to say the least, missed with a header and a shot in the second-half, Wayne Rooney struck a free-kick high in injury time and Marouane Fellaini skied the ball wildly, the one chance he had, but it was meagre fare. United had few answers to Liverpool’s movement and ingenuity, which perhaps explains why this was a match decided on penalties, yet lasting no more than 90 minutes. It was just three minutes old when Daniel Sturridge had his first crack at goal and only five minutes had gone when the visitors should have had their first penalty. It is a familiar scene now, the referee waving away an appeal from Suarez only for the replay to show the Uruguayan was more than justified. Yes, he used to dive, but he doesn’t any more. Can’t they accept that now, and start treating him like the other strikers? United had few answers to Liverpool’s movement and ingenuity, which perhaps explains why this was a match decided on penalties, yet lasting no more than 90 minutes. It was just three minutes old when Daniel Sturridge had his first crack at goal and only five minutes had gone when the visitors should have had their first penalty. It is a familiar scene now, the referee waving away an appeal from Suarez only for the replay to show the Uruguayan was more than justified. Yes, he used to dive, but he doesn’t any more. Can’t they accept that now, and start treating him like the other strikers? On this occasion, Suarez deserved two penalties, Fellaini having one crack at him that made him stumble, and then a second that made him fall. Clattenburg waved both away, setting the standard for his performance. In the 31st minute, Rafael caught Gerrard late and was booked and just three minutes later he deliberately handled while trying to stop Suarez, and wasn’t. A penalty was given, and in front of the Stretford End, but Clattenburg choked on the bigger call. Rafael’s handball was impossible to ignore and not one of those unfortunate ones, either. Suarez dinked it past him on the by-line and, realising he had been beaten, the right-back patted it down. It wasn’t a deflection, he wasn’t off balance, he had plenty of time to get his arm out of the way. It was cheating, pure and simple, yet Clattenburg chose to manage the game rather than apply the rules, and kept 11 against 11. It really is a curse, this latest trend. Gerrard put the ball smartly to David De Gea’s left – but Clattenburg’s faintheartedness could have conjured a travesty. Had the score stayed at 1-0 for a length of time, who knows if Liverpool might have been vulnerable to pressure? As it was, from the first attack of the second-half, United cracked and lost the game. Jordan Henderson chipped the ball into the penalty where Joe Allen was bundled over by Phil Jones, whose clumsiness is hardly a defensive asset, and Clattenburg’s decision summoned Gerrard into action again, doubling Liverpool’s lead. By the time Gerrard stepped up to attempt a hat-trick of penalties, United were in disarray. The replays showed Vidic did not make contact with Sturridge, and the Manchester United man was furious with his opponent, complaining bitterly to him even after the red card had been shown, but it was hard to have too much sympathy. Vidic had gone in rashly, and forcefully, on a player running fast in the penalty area. It really was an accident waiting to happen. The same could not be said of Gerrard’s kick, having scored at that moment 30 of his last 33. He missed. Hit the left post to ensure United would not be punished twice. And if Sturridge did make a meal of Vidic’s challenge there was payback four minutes later when he was plainly tripped by Michael Carrick but Clattenburg waved his appeal away. Suarez got the better of Jones after 83 minutes, forcing a brilliant save from De Gea, but the Spaniard was powerless a minute later when a scuffed Sturridge shot fell at Suarez’s feet for only his second league goal since January. The numerical distance between the teams was now reflective of the gulf on the day. The home fans tried to drown out Liverpool’s celebrations, but it would appear Manchester United now have another set of noisy neighbours, and some very thin walls. mail
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 10:00:00 +0000
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