Ahhh yes… the season-boosting 2-0 win over our greatest rivals has indeed happened, and our optimism has finally been able to kick in after losing four straight matches. Goals from Torres and Ngog, as well as a third straight red card from Nemanja Vidic in this fixture, led to our incredibly important three points gained. But much like last season, the performance just as much as the result in the Anfield clash is what sticks in the memory. We harried United into so many mistakes and did not give them the time and possession that leads to their devastating forays forward. At the end, Mascherano also got sent off, but his performance on the day was encouraging because we hadn’t quite yet seen the best of him this season.
The first goal came 64 minutes in, and it was a very well-taken strike. Yossi Benayoun, who has been absolutely superb this season, slipped in an exquisite through-ball into the path of Torres, who had snuck behind Ferdinand. Using fabulous control and showing exceptional strength, Torres was able to muscle past Ferdinand, and slam home a strike from about 8-10 yards on the right into the top corner whilst being tugged and pulled by the United English defender. Though Torres was only 80%, he once again showed his class in “the big match.” Like Gerrard, who was injured for this clash, Torres is becoming quite the player in the local derbies and mega-matches. With five goals against Chelsea, three against Everton, three against Arsenal, and two against Manchester United, Torres now has 13 total goals in our biggest matches… not to mention scoring against Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Porto, Marseille, etc. Liverpool legend already? You bet your arse.
But his goal was not to be our one and only. Four minutes into stoppage time, Liverpool did very well to stop United from flowing forward and broke forward in a stunning counter-attack, unusually spearheaded by Lucas. And it was Lucas who sent in David Ngog with a clear run at Van Der Sar, and our young #24 made no mistake and calmly slid in a shot to the far corner, sending Anfield absolutely ape. It was a delightful moment, one that sent a real message to the rest of the Premiership that we are indeed back in action. The title? Maybe not. But at least we will be competitive again!
The enemy did have their chances, though. Rooney had a close call on a header, Valencia smacked the upright, and Carragher was involved in two challenges that the referee decided not to give (one being a sliding tackle in the box where Carra took the ball first but mostly Carrick’s leg in the follow-through, and the second being only a yellow card when he took down Owen). If you ask me, though, I honestly believe that the referee was correct in both decisions. The second one was the toughest, because in a sense, Owen was shielding Carra in order to draw the foul. That’s probably why the ref gave a yellow to him instead of a straight red. Regardless, the sour grapes from Ferguson after the match makes me lose any sympathy at all for United. To blame the referee for your own inept performance and to claim he didn’t have the experience, yada yada yada only diminshes our accomplishment of completely shutting them down. Of course, the FA won’t do shit about it, and we all know it!
Anyhow, I was extremely pleased with our effort and it has been such a blessing as a supporter to see us beating United again after a good five years with limited goals, not to mention not gaining any significant points against them. With Arsenal coming up in the League Cup at the Emirates on Wednesday, I sincerely hope we can give them a good game and progress. As I’ve said before, I want to see us win a cup of ANY kind this season, not just seeing us win the league. It has been far too long (Community Shield in 2006) since we have won a trophy. I do feel, however, that our side will be weakened and that Arsenal’s kids might end up giving us a shameful result… but that’s just a might. I thought United would beat us, so there you go… I am not always right. My head says we’ll lose 3-1, but my heart says we’ll sneak a 1-0. Let’s go with my heart this time! David Ngog to continue his good run of form and to get the winner. Maybe that will be his new “best moment.”
