Match Reports
Man United 0-1 Liverpool Liverpool completed a 5th consecutive win over their local rivals thanks to a late goal by Danny Murphy. Man United started brightly, earning a free kick after only a minute's play in David Beckham range. But from a similar position to where he scored for England against Greece, Beckham's kick struck the wall, and rebounded out for a corner, which came to nothing. The first real opportunity came on the quarter hour. A quick break by United ended with Silvestre getting a low cross into the box. Hyypia was at full stretch to stop the ball, but Ryan Giggs beat any other Liverpool to the ball but missed the target from close range with a shot that was curling away from the goal. Steve Gerrard had Liverpool's first shot soon after, from a move which started with a free kick after Owen was recklessly hacked to the ground by Veron, who somehow avoided receiving even a yellow card. On 28 minutes, Giggs was again involved in a goalscoring chance at the Liverpool end, though Henchoz blocked the shot to put the ball out for a corner. Liverpool started to get more and more into the game as the half wore on, and Owen found himself with a chance with just over half an hour gone. Riise intercepted a poor pass by Scholes and Owen took over in the United half. But instead of attempting to take the ball past Keane, Owen tried a shot from outside the area, which failed to trouble Barthez. Man United continued to press forward at every opportunity though, and looked dangerous throughout the first half, but with none of their 7 first half shots managing to hit the target, Dudek found himself with relatively little to do. Danny Murphy had Liverpool's last chance of the half, firing a shot from an angle after breaking into the Man United penalty area, but he was slightly too far out to really trouble Barthez, who gathered the ball comfortably. Carragher was booked just before the break for dissent, following Steve Gerrard's yellow card which was picked up in the first minute for a challenge which was not even close to being as bad as that of Veron, earlier in the half. Liverpool began the second half in rather the same way as they ended the first, having slightly more of the possession. But the game still awaited its first real clear cut chance. Michael Owen looked determined to create the first great chance early in the second half, when he went on a run into the United penalty box, but he eventually found himself crowded out by 3 Man United defenders and he overrun the ball slightly. At the other end, the Liverpool defence was standing up to anything that the home side were throwing at them, and a little frustration was beginning to show, particularly from Van Nistelrooy who was being dealt with extremely efficiently by Henchoz and after failing to connect to a David Beckham, the Dutch striker kicked out at Jerzy Dudek, which left the Liverpool keeper in need of treatment. And it was soon after that United received their first caution, with Juan Veron being cautioned for a foul on Henchoz. But after 73 minutes, Man United finally registered a shot on target, with Veron striking a fierce shot from long range, which Dudek parried to safety. A few minutes later saw the introduction of Nicolas Anelka, who replaced Owen, and immediately made his mark on the game. After collecting a loose ball in the penalty area from close range but a tight angle, Anelka stuck a shot towards the near post which Barthez parried, but the ball bounced off Silvestre, who was positioned just in front of Barthez, and bounced back towards goal, missing by only a yard. From the resulting corner, Riise hit a powerful volley, which travelled straight at Barthez, and the keeper took no chances in punching the ball away. A goal was looking increasingly likely, and Liverpool were clearly in the driving seat in terms of the play, and before long, they were one goal ahead to show for their efforts. Steve Gerrard opened the United defence with a precise pass, and Danny Murphy was on hand to simply divert the ball goalwards. It needed a delicate touch, which Murphy provided, and it was the least which he deserved after taking a fair amount of stick last weekend. Man United never gave up though, and just a minute after Liverpool's goal, Ryan Giggs found himself with a great chance after out jumping Henchoz, but despite directing a header into the bottom corner, Jerzy Dudek pulled off a good save to keep his side in the lead. Despite a slow start, Liverpool finished the game as deserved winners, with United's strikers kept almost completely quiet, and with a more adventurous approach ultimately paying huge rewards. Liverpool are now just 2 points behind United in the Premier League, and have moved up into 3rd, although have played more games than Arsenal and Leeds, both of whom are close behind. View match pictures from this game!
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