Liverpool 3-1 Manchester United: Reaction, Talking Points and Controversy

Liverpool’s 3-1 victory against Manchester United will give hope to Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal, who’ll be ruing their draw against Sunderland. Having gone 24 league matches without defeat, United have lost three in five matches as it appears injuries are debilitating their ability to win matches, with Nani being the latest to be ruled out.

Whilst Kenny Daglish’s Liverpool have won, bear in mind after defeating Chelsea, Liverpool drew against Wigan and lost against West Ham. Having beaten United, it is vital for Liverpool to capitalise on their momentum and make a last ditch attempt to qualify for the Champions League, an idea so foreign a few months ago.

It’s important to remember Justice Floyd’s decision to rule against Tom Hicks and George Gillet, as it allowed John W. Henry and Tom Werner of New England Sports Ventures to purchase Liverpool. Under Hicks and Gillet, Liverpool were deteriorating as rapidly as Fernando Torres, but under the New England Sports Ventures, Liverpool have found a new lease of life.

By replacing a fading and unmotivated Torres with Luis Suárez, Roman Abramovich must be thinking, what on earth was I thinking in buying Torres for £50 million when I could have bought Suárez for £23 million?

Dirk Kuyt’s first goal in the 34^th minute was only possible because of Suárez’s magic. He dribbled his way past Rafael, Michael Carrick and Wes Brown before allowing Kuyt to tap in from close range. Kuyt’s second and third goals were due to uncharacteristic United’s mistakes with Nani and Edwin van der Sar practically providing assists.

Fábio Aurélio’s injury in the 24^th minute once again highlighted his constant battle with his body. In 2006, he was injured for a month. In 2007, he was injured for six months. In 2008, he was injured for five months. In 2009, he was injured for three months. In 2010, he was injured for three months. How long will Liverpool continue to pay him to be injured?  

Was Maxi Rodríguez even on the pitch in Liverpool’s win? He has scored four goals and provided four assists in 40 league games compared to someone like Blackpool’s Charlie Adam who has scored seven goals and provided seven assists in just 26 league games. Rodríguez’s lack of pace combined with his lack of creative flair explains his low production input. So why is he in the starting lineup?

There is no place in football for Jamie Carragher’s tackle, which crippled Nani, leaving him in tears as he was stretchered off. Referee Phil Dowd should have showed a red card, but by showing a yellow card, he was saying you can get away with these types of tackles.

No surprise in the next passage of play, Rafael went in with a ridiculous reckless two-footed tackle on Lucas, who was lucky to get nicked as opposed to being cleaned up. Instead of sending both Carragher and Rafael off, Dowd bottled both decisions by only showing yellow cards.     

Just some food for thought: In their last six matches, Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City lost against 13^th place Aston Villa and drew against 18^th place Birmingham City and 11^th place Fulham. If they had won those matches, Manchester City would be level on 60 points with United.