Source: Daily_Mail
Man United 2 Liverpool 1: Unsung hero Park upstages missing man Gerrard
The two finest English midfielders of their respective generations appeared on the pitch here and Ji-Sung Park upstaged both of them. [LNB]In fairness to Paul Scholes, there was not an awful lot he could have done about it in the eight minutes he spent on the field. Left on the bench for the previous 87, he only came on so Sir Alex Ferguson could kill some time and reward Park with the standing ovation he richly deserved. [LNB]But Steven Gerrard proved nothing like as influential as a talented, tenacious South Korean who has scored important goals against Arsenal, AC Milan and Liverpool in recent weeks. [LNB] Stoop: Park Ji-sung nodded home on the hour for Manchester United[LNB] [LNB]There was a time when Ferguson considered Gerrard the mostinfluential player in the English game. But not on this occasion. Notwhen it was players like Park and Darren Fletcher who took charge ofthis scrappy, fiercely contested encounter and propelled ManchesterUnited back to the top of the Barclays Premier League. Wayne Rooney hasdominated the headlines in recent months and rightly so. [LNB]The outstanding footballer in this country right now, he took hisseason's tally to 33 with the goal that cancelled out a superbfifth-minute header from Fernando Torres. [LNB]But if there is a crucial difference between United and the sidethat pushed them hardest last season, it is as much about the supportcast as the guys in the leading roles. [LNB] Enlarge [LNB] Enlarge In a season when Liverpool have been far too reliant on Torres andGerrard, United have possessed quality in every area of the pitch. Itis because of players like Park and Fletcher, like Michael Carrick,Jonny Evans, Antonio Valencia and even Nani, that they have managed toovercome the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo and remain a major force. [LNB]Some players always deliver. Patrice Evra rivals Ashley Cole as oneof the finest left backs in the world and now Rio Ferdinand, NemanjaVidic and Gary Neville are again standing to his right. United have asolidity few teams can rival. [LNB] Full blooded: Wayne Rooney dives in on Steven Gerrard in the fiery affair[LNB]But where too many Liverpool players have failed to respond to thechallenge of delivering that elusive first title under Rafa Benitez, anumber of United's players have taken a significant step forward. Noteven a more central role unsettled Park. [LNB]'Because of his intelligence and discipline he can do a slightly different job for us,' said Ferguson. [LNB]'He's such a bright little lad and his courage got him the goal.' [LNB]For Fletcher, too, there was praise. 'It's interesting that we havelost the last three games to Liverpool and Darren has missed all ofthem,' he said. [LNB]'He covers every inch of the ground and does a great job.'[LNB] [LNB] Opener: Fernando Torres (right) and Gerrard celebrate[LNB]In Liverpool's side there were no such performers. Javier Mascheranosucceeded only in conceding the penalty from which Rooney eventuallyscored - Pepe Reina saved the spot-kick before Rooney seized on therebound - and Lucas and Gerrard failed to have any impact. [LNB]MATCH FACTS MANCHESTER UTD (4-5-1): Van der Sar 6; Neville 6, Ferdinand 7, Vidic 7, Evra 7; Valencia 6, Park 8 (Scholes 87), Carrick 6, Fletcher 8, Nani 6 (Giggs 79); Rooney 7. Booked: Valencia, Vidic.[LNB]LIVERPOOL (4-4-1-1): Reina 6; Johnson 6, Carragher 7, Agger 6, Insua 5; Kuyt 7 (Aquilani 73, 5), Lucas 5 (Benayoun 83), Mascherano 5, Rodriguez 5 (Babel 76, 6); Gerrard 6; Torres 6.Booked: Mascherano, Torres.[LNB]Man of the match: Ji-Sung Park.Referee: Howard Webb. [LNB]A lack ofcomposure was part of the problem, the pressure of what is starting tolook like the hopeless pursuit of a Champions League place seeminglygetting the better of them. [LNB]Torres appeared particularly troubled. He opened the scoring with asuper finish but he was booked for a nasty challenge on Park and hecould have been in trouble with referee Howard Webb on a number ofother occasions, not least when he scuffed the penalty spot with hisstuds seconds before Rooney planted the ball. [LNB]Had Torres been more composed, he might have equalised when Gerrardset him up in the 90th minute, but he failed to connect properly with aright-foot shot one would normally expect him to bury. [LNB]Liverpool might point to the fact that this was their third match ina week, but they will regret how easily they conceded their advantage. [LNB] [LNB] Spot on: Rooney fires home his first-half penalty[LNB]A terrific opening goal came from a swiftly executed attack that wassparked by a wayward pass from Carrick. Torres back-heeled the ballinto the path of Gerrard, the Liverpool captain surged downfield beforepassing to Dirk Kuyt on the right flank and Torres then appearedbetween Neville and Ferdinand to meet Kuyt's cross with a quitesensational header. [LNB]That Benitez is blaming Valencia for United's penalty is, frankly,ludicrous. It was not the red card offence Ferguson claimed it was, andit was hardly surprising to see the two managers clash in the technicalarea when United's manager protested to Webb. [LNB] [LNB] Hotting up: Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson clashes with Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez[LNB]But Mascherano took holdof the rapidly advancing United winger deep in Liverpool's half and hewas still clinging on when Valencia fell inside the box. It was apenalty. No doubt about it. [LNB] Rooney overcame the dirty tricks of Torres as well as Reina's saveto level the scores and Park could have struck on at least one otheroccasion before he celebrated the decisive goal on the hour. [LNB]A neat ball to the right from Rooney was followed by a fine crossfrom Fletcher and Park, taking advantage of the fact that JamieCarragher was too busy trying to stop Rooney, did the rest, scoringwith a diving header that underlined the contribution of the Unitedplayers beyond Rooney.[LNB] Manchester United 2 Liverpool 1: All the action as it happened with Tom BellwoodManchester United linked with huge £35m summer bid for Valencia star VillaMANCHESTER UNITED FC
