Saturday, the 14th of March was a momentous day. Joyous for some and horrendous for the others. Just when the league was in the danger of becoming drab and drag, things were turned upside down this Saturday.
As many Liverpool fans would put it, they came, they saw, and they conquered. Of course, United deserve a fair share of credit for their howler.
As far as the neutral is concerned, it was not the perfect game to watch and rave about the standards of English football but the Liverpool faithful wouldn't mind that. Liverpool took United by storm, the look on the faces of the United players told most of the story. They had been stung and stung where it hurt most.
In front of their own supporters, the Champions were brought down to their knees and humiliated. It had been quite sometime since the Red Devils had been at the end of such a spanking.
To make matters worse, it was at the hands of their most bitter rivals in front of their own fans.
Now that the storm has subsided, at least for now, and the dust has settled, lets see how things shaped up on Saturday and will shape up in the coming weeks.
The Heroes...
The names of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard seem to be synonymous to the title, at least for this game. Even though United gifted Liverpool with most of the goals at important times in the game, there was an awful lot to be done by the attacking duo.
Torres in particular tormented the United defense in general, and Vidic in particular, throughout the afternoon.
As the attacking prowess of Gerrard and Torres stole the limelight, the contribution of Liverpool's midfield and defense went unnoticed. Though the defense was largely untroubled, they deserve credit for standing up to the big game.
The absence of a targetman for United in the form of Berbatov somewhat eased the pressure on the center backs, but the lively Tevez kept them on their toes.
Another bunch of unsung heroes were the midfield duo of Mascherano and Lucas. Though they did not contribute much creatively towards the game, they did well
to break up United's attacks during their inception.
Lucas seemed to wear blinkers so as to keep a close eye on Cristiano Ronaldo. Mascherano, was his belligerent self and would be pleased to have banished the memories of last season's tie at Old Trafford.
Liverpool were far from what they were against Madrid mid-weeek, but few fans would think twice as to which of the results was the bigger one for the club.
Liverpool put in a rugged display and even though they cannot claim to have dominated the game, they soaked up the United attack and were disciplined on the
pitch.
United were made to look toothless in front of goal as a stern defensive display by a stitched up defensive unit was able to undo any move made by the attackers.
The Villains...
Though the United defense has been getting a lot of flak after this game, the warning signs were evident from the past few weeks.
While United's attacking strength has waned considerably this season, the defense has been the cornerstone of United's success so far this term. Hence, the degenaration of the defense catches the eye more easily than the mediocrity of the attack.
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