Liverpool stun Old Trafford – can Manchester United recover in time?
Gerrard's Kiss of Life...sort of
Wow.
The last time I saw United get this humiliated was against Chelsea three years ago, and even at 1-0 down Liverpool showed shades of the 04/05 and 05/06 Chelsea side with an impenetrable defence, the narrow midfield supplemented by wide attackers and the two players at the top, England’s joint-best attacking midfielder tucked in behind the Premier League’s best striker as they took every chance that came to them while the opposition just wilted.
We were shocking. But there’s no doubting it, Liverpool were top class.
The numbers say that United have a game in hand, a 4 point lead and games at home to come. Two games lost and United would still be a point ahead and mathematically the favourites for the title.
But numbers aren’t everything. United have chased down big leads before in title races in recent years and they’ll know th
The players need the fans to back them. The players need Ferguson to put an arm around them and get them back into some sort of mental shape to pick themselves up from this game and get back on track starting next week with the away game to Fulham. The fans must absolutely get behind the team, they’ve played a real shocker and didn’t do well against Inter in the first half either but the line between winning and losing the title is very narrow – if this bunch is going to win any more titles this season they need the full support of their fans.
Liverpool – well, what can I say? They’ll be praying that Torres stays fit for the rest of the season and that they can win their remaining games this season, and let teams like Arsenal (who still have to go to Old Trafford and barring that FA Cup debacle, have done fairly well against United in recent years) can do their bit into helping them across the finish line.
And no matter what the margin of victory, Liverpool also have Chelsea to contend with, who play Manchester City at home tomorrow and will be equal on points and ahead on goal difference if they beat City. Liverpool have given themselves the best chance of the season to do well in both the Premier League and Europe, it’s now up to them to finish the job.
Well done Liverpool. See you at the finish line.
How did that happen? I mean until Vidic slipped for their first goal we were all over them and in the second half we were camped in their half until Vidic got the red. I thought it was just a matter of time before the equaliser.
Reina dropped the ball 3 times and rode his luck as there was no one there to put a foot in. The stats show we had more possession, more shots, more corners (10 to 3 which usually a good indication of pressure) at in the end we got hammered. They had 5 chances and got 4 goals. I can’t believe it.
Vidic and Evra looked slow. O’Shea looked crap but I thought everyone else was as usual.
The stats don’t show that we did absolutely nothing in the middle of the pitch, or that we didn’t do much going at their full backs either.
We got the starting lineup right (mostly), although Ronaldo and Tevez should have swapped places and I thought Fletcher tucked in to the right of midfield instead of Park out wide would have done better, but still.
I would say we didn’t do much on the edge of their box. I still thought that it was a matter of time before a neat 1-2 would put someone through on goal. At 2:1 up they really defended in numbers. I lost count of the number of grey shirts in their penalty area.
This is the saddest day of my life….last time i felt so gutted was last years home game against man city. I just cant believe it …..just can’t take it. I want liverpool in the CL Draw. I want the fuckin scousers, That said I take my hat of to your performance today
Nice pic. Looks like Gerrard got to first base with the camera. I wonder if Alex is jealous.
Terrible performance all around for United. I was surprised to see Anderson in there, since he’s done nothing all year. I would have thought that Fletcher would get the start, but I guess not. Hopefully, it was a one-time aberration and a wakeup call for a team that was in danger of peaking too early.
United fans are all saying how Liverpool wont win the league still and all, but this wasnt about the title, this was about pride and belief.. before this match i would have shit myself getting United in the draw, now i dont mind who we get
Liverpool_Fan – like I’ve said to Arsenal, City and West Ham fans before, you can have your pride and belief, we’ll like the title thank you.
Ahmed.
You will be entitled to enjoy winning the title in May if you do so and I think you almost certainly will. But that won’t change the fact that you were thumped today, and that Liverpool are getting steadily closer to Utd under Benitez.
All the stuff about his rant, his contract, his transfers, his rotation and his zonal marking does not change the fact that since he arrived we have moved closer to a league title. You might have caught us on 18, but your lead might also be very short-lived.
Oh and by the way, nice pic, notice the prawn-sandwich muncher taking a photo of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard celebrating!
GW I agree with you 100% (on the first post). It saved me the time of writing a lot
Steven Gerrard- the joint-best midfielder in England? I read that and laughed. Stevie G is in a class of his own, and even Zidane can see that. To even put Lampard on his level is disgraceful.
“the joint-best midfielder in England” – I’ve never understood what that means. Can someone explain please?
thanks
Yep, Zidane said he is the best in the world (or england at least I’m not sure)
I agree @ Crouchy, Gerrard’s drive, determination and actual presence make him unplayable. Ahmed, belief is surely one of the key factors to winning titles, isnt that why most people said Arsenal fell off last season?
Today was shit,but we have to remember that all 4 goals were a direct result of unforgivable defensive errors(the free kick was awesome though). Liverpool really only created a couple of openings through Torres and the defense dealt with them.
Anyone who watched the game could see that scum could hardly hang on to the ball specially in the second half until the red card.The three substitutes didn’t have time to make an impact at all.
All wee need to do is move on like we always do and still remember that : We’re top of the league,and that’s a FACT!!!
EVERYONE. Please. Hold on to your horses. People are getting too carried away, jeez. Liverpools fans I guess have a right to, afterall considering the week they had, and that the just put 4 past a United defense that was thought to be rock solid, and that too at Old Trafford. Congratulations.
HOWEVER, whatever you say the fact of the matter is United played a massive part in this defeat. Were Liverpool good? Ofcourse they were. Did they beat a United team in full swing? No where near. AND THAT is what people need to realize. United were no where near their best. Liverpool were there to capitalize. Ofcourse you cannot blame Liverpool for that, It’s not their fault United’s defence never showed up, but people need to realize just how big a part this played in the final result.
United are nowhere near a crisis. This game will seem insignificant if United get back to winning ways next week. Remember the loss at Arsenal? Remember Uniteds response to that?
The title for this article is ludicrous frankly. “Can Manchester United recover in time?” Ofcourse they can. To think they cannot is to admit to not knowing anything about football. Anyone with half a brain know United have what it takes, and then some. Will they might be a better way to phrase it.
To even claim that United will crumble from this defeat is an insult to their dressing room. This team has won two title in the last two years. This team has Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes in it. This team has SAF for a manager. I think they can take a defeat like this and not come crashing down.
Sure this gives Liverpool some belief but frankly with a game in hand United have a four point lead, possible a seven point lead. There is a long way to go yet, and frankly the picture has not changed much.
I’ll concede that Gerrard is the best midfielder in England. Now when he puts on that England shirt, that’s a different story…
all the fans of the top 4 clubs like talking shit if u ask me. If there is a team that needs to be commended highly, this season 4 doing absolutely well considering how injury have effected their small squad, that team is everton. neither of the teams in the so called top 4 and even aston villa can cope with the kind of injury that everton has and yet no one says shit about them not even an article has been writen to highlight their performance. i am not an everton fan just saying, but having said that, man u fans should shut da f#@k up if today’s result were to be the other way round, we all will hardly breath. 2 all man u fans: yours a$$es were kicked fair & square @ your own backyard deal with it, with all the noise about strength in depth. c’mon show some respect to liverpool. Enuff said.
The United side that weren’t in full swing yet had just beaten Inter and had won 11 games in the league on the trot, only conceding 2 goals along the way.
Yeah, not in full swing alright. Come off it already.
Great week for Liverpool and they deserve to be celebrating. United have done so well lately that they have given themselves a cushion and now they need to steady the ship.
The truth is that Utd have been going through a bad patch in recent weeks. The games against Blackburn, Newcastle, Spurs and Inter (at home) were all shaky performances that Utd managed to win. For some reason the record breaking defence has suddenly lost form. Vidic and Evra in paticular have looked edgy lately.
But it’s been a long season and Utd have played more games than anyone else so a week off will be welcome.
I agree with Victor…what was Anderson doing in the starting line-up? Fergie has used him sparingly this season and he hasn’t progressed at all, unlike Fletcher who has been excellent and hasn’t played recently.
I think Fergie got the team selection wrong both times against Liverpool this season and it cost us.
I’ve said all season that I don’t think Liverpool are good enough to win the title (many Pool fans have agreed) but out of nowhere they have hit a purple patch in the last 2 games. If they can stay consistent in the run-in then they could give themselves a chance.
I think winning 9 games is a realistic goal for Liverpool now, but United dropping points in 3/4 of their remaining 10 games? Like Sam Allardyce said, it would be a miracle for a team other than United to win the title, Istanbul would pale in comparison if Liverpool where to win the league this season.
Having said that United still have to play Arsenal, Villa and City (all at home though) and those teams can certainly cause problems for United, as some of you have pointed out, your defence was looking shaky prior to this game. Whose to say it still wont be shaky in 6 games time?
@Liverpool Fan: “Whose to say it still wont be shaky in 6 games time?”
It could be. I didn’t think Liverppol had this level of performance in them but keep this up and who knows!
… And all you Man U fans were making fun of Real
Liverpool have one good week and the world loses its mind. Disliking/hating a team is one thing, but to be gratuitously disrespectful is quite another. Benetiz today said that he has shown teams the way to beat Manchester United. You know, attack their defence and a victory is all but in the bag. Who in here really things Man U are going to self-implode. Yes it will hurt that they got their asses handed to them, but to suggest they are so emotionally frail as to not be able to recover from this is ridiculous. I would love to see other teams come to O.T. and attempt what Liverpool did. You think Rooney, Ronaldo, and Berbatov on the back of the liverpool defeat are going to acutely descend into the realm of mediocrity? Give me a break. Not only that, you have a Giggs and Scholes to guide the team through the emotional wilderness. They have a week in which to filter the experience and settle their emotions.
So let the ‘pool fans have their moment of glee. We’ve won 2 trophies so far, you trophy cabinet is still empty. It will make it all the more sweet if cesspool end the season empty handed
Bob
Im not sure if you even saw any of the games you talk about or just read the results online.
Ask anyone who saw the Inter match and he will tell you how United were not at their best during that game. Ask anyone that saw the Liverpool game and he will tell you that United were nowhere near their best. Ask anyone who has seen all the last 11 games that United had won previously and they will all tell you that while United managed to get result after result the performances were not extraordinary.
To be in full swing means playing at your best. You will be hard pressed to find a single person who claims that United have hit top gear.
Jisng PPPare’s play was fantastic though MU’s been defeated
#23 Roge,
All Rafa is saying is that United are not supermen and can be beaten, who can argue with that ? However he should have kept his ideas of how they can be beaten to himself, but this no worse than Sir Alex’s ludicrous claim that United were the better team ??!!
One thing is for sure and that is after beating Real Madrid and United in the same week and with Gerrard and Torres fully fit, Liverpool fear no one. The “moment of glee” along with Rafa’s contract could be extended just a little.
thank you liver for putting man u to where they really belong it was a nice game. but u have no position better than a third place in tghis year`s premiership
this is just the begining of great things to come. rafa is a genius and should he be patient with the squad he has now he will prove his critise wrong.this shows the difference between two coaches with two tactical abilities.no wonder the refree was wearing the number 12 jerssey for manchester united by awarding such a fake penalty. but gerrard helped him cover his shame by causing vidic to receive that unpardonable red card. i could see from that moment, in vidics place was the refree since he twarted two attcks by liverpool. good bye to man utd in the champions league because should they meet barcelona or liverpool again, vidics in capabilities woulde be exposed again since mesi is a trouble-maker(danyohene@yahoo.com)
we those in the managing and coaching bussiness saw that SIR ALEX FERGUSSON was tactically paralyzed against liverpool. although i am just a learning coach of 14 years of age, i realised it was just a harm on man utd’s part for Alex to sutitute J.S. Park. infact what was anderson doing in the game.i know Alex beleives in using young and energetic players who can play the whole 90 minutes in games against Liverpool but for this time it did not work out as expected.Even though Vidic has been scoring since his return from injury after the champions league, he has not still regain his last year form and Evra too is yet to realise his dreams whether he can compete with any of the best fullbacks in england.i was not suprised when Torres used pace to outwit Vidic because that is the mark of Torres and if you are not fast to stop him on the break, then you will have answers to give your fans,goalkeeper and your manager.this is not knew of Torres as he proved it against Germany in the EURO-2008 when even pacy Lahm crawled on the ground and that caused them the EURO cup. of late Vidiv has been tackling badly and he is let go scot-free.that is why i beleive man utd has failed to be the man utd we know in england in the champions legue because there there are no favouritism.man utd should bow down their head in shame and allow the best teams in england to win the league genuinely. that is why i always say some coaches are good but others are genius and it takes methodical ingenuity to do what MAURIHNO and RAFA BENNITEZ are doing. after all Sir Alex won nothing in his first 5 years at man utd so what shows that he can compare himself with Jose Maurihno. most of my crictice will say that man utd beat inter milan in the champions league but i will reply that how many transfers has or how many of Jose’s targeted players did he bring into inter milan.I am sure he would have beaten man utd if he had singned Lampard since his midfield is a bit bad due to ageing of the players. if you have any comments or questions about my blog, email me(danyohene@yahoo.com)
United fans cannot take defeat. FOr the first ten minutes of the game united were all over Liverpool while the latter were still finding their feet. Eventually Liverpool started to grab a hold of the game and squez uniteds space etc..Benitez targeted rio and vidic and after vidics error the teams confidence was shot and there was no coming back.I believe united will win the title but as we all know united are human just like the rest of us, but united are bullies and it has got them where they are today. They were outclassed and outplayed by a quality liverpool side… And that is the end of that.