Liverpool 3 Manchester City 2: Istanbul Memories Return

It was only three years ago when Liverpool made the heroic comeback from 3-0 down against AC Milan to win the 2005 UEFA Champions League final in Istanbul, Turkey. I remember it like it was yesterday.

Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer, and Xabi Alonso all tallied, while Jerzy Dudek provided unbelievable goaltending in extra time and the shootout. When the Reds were down 2-0 to Manchester City on Sunday, I didn't lose hope for a minute.

Shaun Wright-Phillips made a run down the right side before cutting the ball to Robinho in the box. The ball seemed to get away from him, but Steven Ireland fired it into the top corner of the net.

Rafael Benitez' team was behind less than 20 minutes into the match. Just before half-time, City doubled their lead courtesy of Javier Garrido. He fired a curler that Pepe Reina had no chance of touching.

After being held scoreless since week one in Sunderland, Fernando Torres fired two in last week at Everton. The Spaniard gave Liverpool life with a goal ten minutes into the second half.

Steven Gerrard made a sneaky pass between the defender's legs to Alvaro Albeloa, who sent a cross right to Torres for an easy finish. Robinho failed to score from close range after a long run by Wright-Phillips.

In the 68th minute, Pablo Zabaleta received a red card for taking out Alonso's legs and not getting any of the ball. Opportunity was knocking on the door, and the Reds answered.

Off a Gerrard corner kick, Torres hit a leaping header for his second of the game. He could have completed the hat-trick, but he uncharacteristically fired an 82nd minute shot wide in the box.

In stoppage time, Torres' shot was blocked and went directly to Dirk Kuyt. The Dutchman hadn't scored a Premier League goal since last November. He accepted the gift, and put Liverpool ahead for the first time.

Manchester City were stunned and no amount of money could take the pain away from this set of events. In a bright spot for City, Martin Petrov made a late appearance and with a stacked midfield, who knows if he's still a regular starter when he's fully recovered.

Liverpool's only sour note was Martin Skrtel being carried off the field after falling down awkwardly. Skrtel will be out for months since suffering posterior cruciate ligament damage in his right knee.

Perhaps, Sami Hyypia will get an opportunity to reclaim a starting role on the back end. Benitez' guys face Wigan next week, a team on the rise that also took care of Manchester City.