Well, the big match just ended. The battlefield was strewn with casualties. (Actually only 1 failed to make it to the end of the game) As a supporter, the result was a fantastic one. I'm sure it was also a sumptuous match for the neutrals. First, a brief description of the epic game.
The Theatre of Dreams has one of the most intimidating atmosphere in the premiership. There is no mercy for the weak-willed and the weak-minded. Pitted against the league champions, Liverpool was really up against it. It did not matter that they took Real Madrid to the sword during the mid-week Champions League 2nd round. Looking at the depth of squad of the opposition: Van der Sar, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, O'Shea, Ronaldo, Park, Carrick, Anderson, Rooney and Tevez, it was up to Gerrard and Co. to get a result.
It was the home side who struck first with Park beating Hyypia for speed and Reina had to come out, bringing Park to the ground. Penalty was the call and up step the Portuguese wizard to slam the ball to Reina's right with such ferocity that there was no way Reina could save it despite guessing the correct direction. The ensuing minutes were an ebb and flow kind of thing with Man Utd obviously having the upper hand. The next turning point was a hopeful long ball which caught Vidic out as he elected to let it run. Up stepped 'El Nino' as he out-muscled Vidic took the ball calmly into the penalty box and chipped it past the despairing reach of Van der Sar. It was a clinical kind of finishing that led our beloved Kop hero to finish his first season with more than 30 goals. The Kop was delirious. More joy was to come as some quick thinking from Gerrard led to him being brought down in the box by Evra. Penalty! Stevie G took on his responsibilities like the Captain Marvel he is, firing it in the bottom right-hand corner of the net. 2-1 and it remained like that till half-time.
Second half was littered with onslaught after onslaught of United attacks and it seemed it was a matter of time before the siege will lead to results. Ferguson became a little impatient on the 70 minute mark, opting for a gamble of a triple substitution, with Giggs, Schole and Berbatov taking to the field. Unfortunately, the gamble failed as it severely disrupted the flow of United's game. Gerrard was put through again and Vidic cynically brought him down. While it was debatable whether he was the last man since Ferdinand seem to be the last man, he deprived Gerrard of a genuine goal-scoring opportunity and on that count, fully deserved the sending off. Free-kick and Aurelio was the man to take it. Liverpool has lacked a dead-ball specialist for a long time and it was even more glaring with our usual free-kick taker Alonso missing through injury. Aurelio put his name into the frame with a glorious, curling free-kick which soared past the wall and flew inches away from the upright, nestling in the net. The Liverpool supporters were in dreamland! 3-1 at the Theatre of Dreams was beyond our wildest dreams since Man Utd has a proud record at their hallowed ground. 10-men United were looking despondent and so were their fans. Dossena put the icing on the cake with a glorious first time chip which beat the stranded Van der Sar after being put through by a wonderful long kick from Reina. 4-1 it finished at Old Trafford!
A magnificent performance from LFC! Though winning the league seem far away at the moment, one never knows until it's mathematically impossible to win the league!
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