Liverpool 1-2 Man United
Liverpool's title hopes were dealt another huge blow as they lost at home to a title rival for the third time this season.
Thie time it was Man United who left Anfield with all three points, having won by the same scoreline as that which Chelsea and Arsenal had done during their earlier visits to Merseyside.
Gerard Houllier had hoped to have Dietmar Hamann and Stephane Henchoz available to him, but both were missing as was Michael Owen, another who was rated as doubtful in the days leading up to the game.
And the loss of Owen was to prove to be a crucial factor in the defeat, with Liverpool dominating the possession for much of the game but not really having anyone to get on the end of many of the balls which were played into the United penalty area.
Emile Heskey struggled on his own in the first half, and just needed someone who could hel out and get on the end of the many flick-ons he was winning, but it was all too easy for the United defence, who were defending in numbers and managing to prevent Liverpool from really having any clear cut opportunities in the first half.
Two Harry Kewell efforts from outside the box failed to force Tim Howard into making saves and Liverpool went into the break without anything to show for an excellent display. The movement and passing were of the highest quality but the lack of a goalscorer up front was proving to be costly.
Pongolle was brought on during the second half, as was Le Tallec shortly after his French under-21 teammate and the two youngsters both caused problems in the final third, with Pongolle managing to set up a first Kop end goal in the league for Harry Kewell.
But the damage was done before either of the French teenagers had been introduced to the action, with poor defending costing Liverpool two goals in the opening half of the second period, both scored by Giggs.
His first came from what appeared to be a cross, but the ball swung towards the back post and curled into the net with Dudek helpless. The Reds' keeper was unable to react until late due to the presence of players in front of him, but after both Van Nistelrooy and Biscan had failed to make contact, it was too late for Dudek to do anything to keep the ball out.
Giggs' second was from closer to goal, and saw him fire a shot in from a tight angle which Dudek would have been expected to deal with, but a slight deflection off the foot of Sami Hyypia caused problems for the Pole, and he could only get a foot to the ball and direct it onto the bar before it bounced over the line, to the delight of the United fans housed just behind that goal.
Kewell's goal gave Liverpool hope and a quarter of an hour of almost non-stop pressure followed from the home team, which included a last minute miss by Heskey from 8 yards, after he lost his footing when turing to shoot, and a penalty appeal turned down for a clear foul on Pongolle by Rio Ferdinand.
The performance against the champions was pleasing, but the result, combined with the result of the other 6 games in which Liverpool have dropped points, has left the Reds with a mountain to climb if they're to challenge Man United, Arsenal and Chelsea for this season's Premiership title. A good run of results is now essential if Liverpool's title hopes are to survive until the New Year.
LFC-1 star Man: Steven Gerrard.
