• Date: Sat 13 September 2008
  • Venue: Anfield
  • Ref: Webb, H
  • Attendance: 44,192
Liverpool

Liverpool

Babel (77)

2 - 1

Liverpool vs Manchester United

Team Lineups

Liverpool

Jose Manuel Reina
Alvaro Arbeloa
Fabio Aurelio
Martin Skrtel
Jamie Carragher
Albert Riera (Ryan Babel, 71)
Javier Mascherano (Sami Hyypia, 87)
Xabi Alonso
Yossi Benayoun (Steven Gerrard, 68)
Dirk Kuyt
Robbie Keane

Manchester United

Edwin van der Sar
Patrice Evra
Wes Brown
Rio Ferdinand
Nemanja Vidic
Paul Scholes (Owen Hargreaves, 66)
Michael Carrick (Ryan Giggs, 46)
Luis de Abreu Anderson (Luis Carlos Nani, 78)
Carlos Tevez
Wayne Rooney
Dimitar Berbatov


Live Text Commentary
Full time
 

Full-Time: LIVERPOOL 2-1 MAN UTD. That's the final whistle and it is a deserved victory for Liverpool who go six points clear of Manchester United.

90

Corner to Manchester United is taken by Nani but he fails to beat the first man. The ball then falls to Rooney who fires wide. That has to be that.

90

Kuyt comes close to scoring this time but is denied by an excellent save from van de Sar. It remains 2-1.

90

Gerrard's free kick is heading wide but Keane almost deflects it into the Manchester United net as they search for a third goal.

90
Red Card
 

Vidic is shown a second yellow card for an awful foul on Alonso. That must be game over now.

89

Not long remaining now in what has been a very entertaining game, with Liverpool attempting to hold onto a very valuable three points.

87
Substitution
 

The very impressive Mascherano is replaced by Sami Hyypia. He appears to be suffering with an injury.

86

Mascherano has had such a fantastic game for Liverpool - this time he tackles Evra and wins a goal kick for his side.

84

Babel chases onto a long ball from Reina before he beats Brown and finds Keane who fails to get his shot away. Babel has been impressive since coming on.

83

Liverpool look likely to add to their lead as Gerrard's shot is saved by van de Sar. That's the first attempt on goal by the England midfielder.

81
Yellow Card
 

Nani is shown the yellow card for a foul on Mascherano who was bursting forward again for his side.

80

Free kick for Liverpool is taken by Aurelio and goes straight into the wall - a wasted opportunity to kill the game off.

79
Yellow Card
 

Vidic is booked for a foul on Keane - there was a question mark over whether he was the last man there.

78
Substitution
 

Final substitution for Manchester United sees Luis Carlos Nani replace Anderson.

77
Goal
 

LIVERPOOL 2-1 MAN UTD. Liverpool take the lead as Mascherano wins the ball before it is cut back to BABEL who fires the ball into the roof of the net from near the penalty spot.

76

Torres is still sitting on the bench for Liverpool, will Benitez turn to him in the final few minutes?

75

With 15 minutes remaining, can either side get themselves a winner? At the moment, it shouldn't be ruled out.

74

Anderson does well to win the ball for his side, but his good work is undone when he can't direct his pass towards Giggs.

73

Kuyt's deep cross towards Keane is slightly over-hit and no attempt is made at goal. It really isn't Keane's day today.

71
Substitution
 

It's another change for the home side as Ryan Babel replaces Riera who has caused Manchester United no end of problems.

71

The momentum is being tilted slightly in Manchester United's favour now. They will hope to make it count with a winning goal.

70

Manchester United have their first chance of the half as Giggs forces an excellent save from Jose Manuel Reina. Excellent effort from Giggs.

69

Rooney finds Giggs on the left wing, but his cross is cleared away by Liverpool. They away side are slowly getting themselves back into this game.

68
Substitution
 

Liverpool make their first change of the game as their captain Gerrard comes on to replace the impressive and hard working Benayoun.

66
Substitution
 

Manchester United make their second change of the game as Hargreaves replaces Scholes in midfield.

65

Despite Liverpool's domination, you can never rule out Manchester United. They have a habit of securing results when not playing particularly well.

64

Arbeloa's cross from the right hand side is missed by Ferdinand and almost falls to Keane, but Ferdinand recovers to clear the danger. Liverpool are causing all sorts of problems going forward.

62

Kuyt and Skrtel link up well in another Liverpool attack before the latter fires a powerful shot into the arms of van de Sar.

61

As previously mentioned, Liverpool's form at Anfield is excellent of late. If they win today, it will be their 10th consecutive home win.

60

Ferguson must be considering another change soon - Manchester United are getting dominated in midfield by Alonso and Mascherano.

58

It is a shot a minute from Liverpool right now as Riera's attempt from distance goes high and wide. They will want to go in front during this spell of dominance.

57

Keane has an excellent chance to score this time, but yet again he fails to connect with the ball with the goal right in front of him.

56

It's another attempt on goal for Liverpool as Keane's ball over the top finds Benayoun who forces a good save from van de Sar.

55

This time is is Kuyt who tries his luck from distance and even though he finds the target, it is easily saved by van de Sar.

54

Kuyt takes a quick throw for Liverpool and finds Alonso, but the Spanish midfielder's attempt is closer to the corner flag than van de Sar's net.

53

Giggs is involved for the first time as he picks out Rooney with a neat pass before he lays the ball off the Scholes who fires wide from 25 yards. That's the best piece of play from the visitors for a while.

52

It will be interesting to see when Benitez decided to introduce Gerrard and Torres because they way they are playing at the moment, they don't need them!

51

Benayoun has been involved in almost every Liverpool attack, this time he finds Kuyt before the Dutchman's shot goes wide of the target.

50

Benitez will be encouraged by the way his team are playing at the start of this half - they look the more likely to go ahead at this stage.

49

Manchester United are on the back foot here as Aurelio's cross is headed behind by Nemanja Vidic.

48

Riera does brilliantly to find Keane who watches on as his cross is deflected behind by Evra. Explosive play from Liverpool.

47

The away side look to start the second half as they did the first, but Tevez fouls his marker as he attempts to get on the end of a Rooney cross.

46
Substitution
 

Manchester United make a change at the break with Ryan Giggs replacing the injured Carrick.

Second half
 

The second half is underway with the game very nicely poised at 1-1.The next goal will be crucial.

Half time
 

Half-Time: LIVERPOOL 1-1 MAN UTD. That's the half-time whistle and the teams go into the break all-square. It has been a very entertaining game between two good footballing sides so far.

45

Two minutes are to be added at the end of the first half.

45

Liverpool are passing the ball around very nicely as Mascherano finds Kuyt who fires the ball straight into the arms of van der Sar.

43

Glorious ball from Berbatov almost finds Rooney, but Martin Skrtel crucially intercepts the ball. Berbatov is showing his undoubted quality in this game.

42

Carrick is limping for Manchester United and at this stage it looks likely he might be replace by Owen Hargreaves at half time.

40

I think that Ferguson will actually be happy to hear the half time whistle - they have lost their shape slightly since the equaliser.

39

Benayoun's ball into the box is deflected of Carrick before it finds a Liverpool player. They are very much on top right now.

38

Corner to Manchester United is taken by Anderson but it fails to beat the first defender and the ball is cleared away. Anderson's set pieces have been poor so far today.

37

Mascherano whips in a fantastic cross for Liverpool, but no one was there to get on the end of it - very frustrating for Rafael Benitez.

35

On the balance of play, Liverpool deserved their equaliser. They responded well to going behind early on and with Gerrard and Torres to come on later - they will fancy their chances of victory.

34

Benayoun finds Keane in the penalty area but with the goal right in front of him, the striker completley misses the ball. He should have done so much better with that.

33

Keane crosses the ball into the Manchester United box aiming for Kuyt, but Rio Ferdinand does well to head the ball away.

31

Manchester United free kick from 30 yards is taken by Anderson but it is smashed against the Liverpool wall. That was an awful effort.

30

The game is very lively again now, the crowd are loud and the football is exciting. It seems certain that there will be more goals to come.

29

The Liverpool goal will have to go down as a Brown own goal, but it appears that van de Sar pushed the ball onto the right back before it found the back of the net.

28

Manchester United almost get in front immediately as Tevez fails to find the target after more good play from Berbatov.

26
Goal
 

LIVERPOOL 1-1 MAN UTD. Liverpool get their equaliser after Alonso's shot deflects off Evra before a mix-up between van der Sar and BROWN results in the ball rolling into the net.

26

Mascherano gives the ball away but luckily for the former West Ham man, Luis de Abreu Anderson fails to control the ball.

25

It should be no suprise that Manchester United have scored today - they have scored in each of their last 26 games.

23

Liverpool are getting more of the ball now, but have still failed to test van der Sar in the Manchester United goal.

22

Wayne Rooney is then lucky to get away without being booked after pulling back Mascherano. He has got away with that one.

21
Yellow Card
 

Manchester United's goalscorer Carlos Tevez is booked for a clumsy challenge on Arbeloa.

21

Riera does very well on the left hand side to keep the ball in play before setting Keane away for the home side - Evra intervenes though and stops any attempts on goal.

20

Liverpool's home form last season was superb - they only lost one game at Anfield. It came against today's opponents Manchester United.

18

If Manchester United manage to hold on to this lead, it will be their sixth win in a row against Liverpool.

17

Benayoun combines Albert Riera who fails to make his way past the impressive Brown. The right back has had an excellent start to this game and it will take something special to get past him in this form.

15

Scholes gives the ball away to Javier Mascherano and just as the Liverpool midfielder looks to release Keane, Brown intercepts and ends the danger.

14

Jamie Carragher is unhappy after he concedes a free kick despite winning the ball - he is the only Englishman in the Liverpool side today.

12

Aurelio's corner is fumbled by Edwin van der Sar and falls to Kuyt who watches on as Brown blocks his shot on the line. Better from Liverpool.

12

The best piece of play from Liverpool so far results in a corner for the home side after good work from Kuyt and Robbie Keane.

10

The away side are really putting the pressure on now, they are looking very impressive and Liverpool haven't even started as yet.

9

Wes Brown gets himself forward from right back and gets a cross into the Liverpool box which is cleared by Arbeloa. Brown is having a lot of the ball early on.

8

Yossi Benayoun attempts to launch an attack for Liverpool, but his cross fails to trouble the Manchester United defence and the ball is eventually cleared.

7

It has certainly been a lively start to this game and it has all the makings of another thrilling encounter between English football's two most succesful clubs.

6

Liverpool attempt to get on level terms as Dirk Kuyt's volley flashes just wide of the post - that was close.

5

The crowd were very loud at the start of the game, but there is no doubt the home fans are shocked after the early goal.

4

The sort of assist Berbatov provided for the opening goal is exactly what they brought him for. Fantastic start for Sir Alex Ferguson's men.

3
Goal
 

LIVERPOOL 0-1 MAN UTD. Manchester United take the lead as Dimitar Berbatov pulls the ball back to CARLOS TEVEZ who smashes the ball home from just inside the area.

3

Paul Scholes finds Wayne Rooney on the right hand side for the visitors, but Alvaro Arbeloa does well to win the ball for Liverpool.

2

There is a great incentive for the home side today - they can go three points clear at the top of the table with a victory.

1

Rather suprisingly, Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard find themselves on the bench for Liverpool today.

Kickoff
 

They are underway at Anfield with Liverpool looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the season against a Manchester United side that includes new signing Dimitar Berbatov.