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Manchester United at Liverpool: Matchday Commentary

Good morning everybody. If you are reading this then chances are you are a die-hard soccer fan ready to watch the marquee match of the weekend, Manchester United at Liverpool. The match will mark the first battle between two teams from the English Premier League’s ‘Big Four’ and also marks the debuts for new Man Utd striker Dimitar Berbatov and Liverpool midfielder Albert Riera.

I will be providing running commentary throughout the match today (assuming some people are awake and following along). If you plan on watching the match, or if you can’t watch but want to know what is going on, please feel free to follow along here. Share your thoughts and opinions on the match below (and let me know you’re following along).

Enjoy the match.

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FINAL- That’s it for me this morning. Thanks to those of you were up this morning following along. Enjoy the rest of the soccer action today.

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FINAL- Liverpool 2, Manchester United 1. Mistakes cost Manchester United as Liverpool turned it up in the second half and found a way to FINALLY beat Man Utd in league play.

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93rd minute- Rooney with a chance late but hits it wide. Last chance.

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93rd minute– Van Der Sar stops Kuyt late. Great sequence for Liverpool until the finish

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91st minute– Clumsy challenge and silly mistake. Now Vidic will miss the match against Chelsea next week.

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90th minute– Liverpool looks like a safe bet to hold on here.

Vidic gets a second yellow card and has been sent off.

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87th minute– Sami Hyypia coming in for Javier Mascherano.

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85th minute– Looks like Mascherano is hurt and ready to come out.

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82nd minute– Mascherano has been Liverpool’s best player today, his blown assignment on Tevez’ goal notwithstanding.

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81st minute– Nani gets a yellow for taking down Mascherano from behind.

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79th minute– Liverpool in the lead and full deserving of the lead. Manchester United has had some bad blunders and just haven’t shown much in the second half.

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78th minute– Giggs and Mascherano were fighting for a ball near the end-line and rather than just kick it out, Giggs tried to block Mascherano, who got a foot on it, leading to a Babel wide-open chance.

Vidic fouls Keane and draws a yellow card. Dangerous challenge there.

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77th minute- GOAL LIVERPOOL!!!!!!!! Ryan Babel finishes off a chance created by Mascherano’s persistence.

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76th minute– Nani looking like he’ll be the third sub, I’d say for Berbatov.

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74th minute– Man Utd. looks very flat right now. Liverpool just might find a winner.

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71st minute– Wayne Rooney has been all over the field today. Hasn’t had many chances but his defensive work is amazing to see.

Babel comes in for Riera.

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70th minute– Giggs with a great shot to force a tough save by Reina.

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69th minute– A bit surprised to see Gerrard today. Will we see Torres soon?

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68th minute– Gerrard comes in for Benayoun.

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67th minute– Gerrard is preparing to enter the match for Liverpool.

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66th minute– Hargreaves comes in for Scholes. Hey, who knew Paul Scholes was playing today?

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62nd minute– Van Der Sar shanks a kick and just looks off today.

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60th minute– Berbatov is back in action, not moving well though.

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59th minute– Berbatov is getting his right knee checked out on the sidelines. Not a good sign.

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57th minute– Mascherano hits one into the area but Keane can’t get a foot onto it. Good chance there.

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55th minute– Van Der Sar with a clutch save on a Benayoun chance.

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52nd minute– Considering the attacking talent on the field, Manchester United has been pretty disappointing so far this half (and the final 15-20 minutes of the first half for that matter).

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50th minute– Livepool showing some good attack early on, but the final pass keeps falling short.

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48th minute– Van Der Sar collects easily.

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47th minute– Evra has to clear a very dangerous cross in the area, giving up a Liverpool corner.

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46th minute– We’re under way

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HALFTIME– Ryan Giggs has come on for Carrick

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HALFTIME– I have to say that Berbatov looked very good early on, especially on the goal, but hasn’t been involved much in the last 20 minutes.

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HALFTIME– What will we see differently in the second half? Liverpool has Torres and Gerrard on the bench, but I think we will only see Torres today.

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HALFTIME– Manchester United 1, Liverpool 1. Tevez scores on a pass from Berbatov and Van Der Sar gifts an own goal by slapping a loose ball off Brown’s legs and into his own net.

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47th minute– Not much to these final minutes.

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45th minute– Looks headed for halftime tied.

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42nd minute– Carrick is looking like he has an ankle problem and might come off for Hargreaves at halftime.

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39th minute– Liverpool clears.

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38th minute– Man Utd. corner.

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37th minute– Man Utd has slowed down here. Not showing much of an attack the past few minutes.

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34th minute– Liverpool is coming on here. Some better possession from the home team.

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32nd minute– No danger on that free kick.

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31st minute– Man Utd. with a free kick from long out.

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30th minute– Some weak turnovers from Man Utd.

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29th minute– Carragher nearly returns the favor with a softly hit back-pass that Tevez nearly gets to before Reina can clear.

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28th minute– Goal was totally against the run of play and Man Utd. is already on the hunt to get the lead back.

Tevez with a chance but his volley goes high.

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26th minute- GOAL LIVERPOOL!!!!!! What a mess of a goal. Van Der Sar runs out to try and smack a ball away and it hits off Wes Brown and into the net.

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25th minute– Not much going on now.

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21st minute– Tevez with a yellow card for a clumsy challenge on Arbeloa.

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20th minute– Howard Webb is the ref today. MLS fans may or may not have realized it but Webb refereed the SuperLiga final won by New England over Houston on PKs.

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19th minute– Mascherano is up.

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18th minute– Mascherano and Evra have clashed heads and Mascherano is down.

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17th minute– Liverpool is struggling to create much today. I’m sure some American Liverpool fans are complaining about the "empty bucket" midfield of Alonso and Mascherano.

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14th minute– Man Utd. applying heavy pressure here. Another corner.

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12th minute– WOW. Van Der Sar spills one to Kuyt but Kuyt blasts the chance right at Van Der Sar. Man Utd. got lucky there.

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11th minute– Looks like Wayne Rooney is playing a right wing role today.

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9th minute– Man Utd’s passing is so sharp early on. They look very good today.

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8th minute– Liverpool knocking it around now, but Man Utd’s defense isn’t budging.

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5th minute– Man U has won its last five matches against Liverpool in the league, without giving up a goal in any of them. Not a bad track record.

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4th minute– WOW. That was fast. Berbatov held up the ball on the right edge of the penalty area, turns and delivers a sharp and low pass across the area to a wide-open Tevez, who finishes easily.

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3rd minute- GOAL MANCHESTER UNITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Carlos Tevez finishes a beautiful pass from Berbatov.

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2nd minute– We are under way. Early handball call against Liverpool goes ignored.

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PRE-GAME– Here is Manchester United’s lineup:

—————–Berbatov——————–

——–Tevez—————Rooney———-

——Anderson————–Scholes———

——————Carrick———————-

Evra——-Vidic——-Ferdinand—–Brown

—————-Van Der Sar——————

BENCH– Kuszczak, Hargreaves, Giggs, Nani, O’Shea, Evans, Fletcher

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PRE-GAME– Here is Liverpool’s lineup:

—————Keane———-Kuyt——————–

Riera——-Mascherano—–Alonso——–Benayoun

Aurelio——Carragher——–Skrtel——–Arbeloa

———————–Reina—————————

BENCH– Cavalieri, Dossena, Hyppia, Gerrard, Torres, Babel, Ngog

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PRE-GAME– Teams just exchange handshakes and Berbatov and Robbie Keane share a nice moment and laugh.

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PRE-GAME– Teams take the field and Dimitar Berbatov is in the starting lineup (for 30 million pounds he better be).

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PRE-GAME– Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard are NOT in the starting lineup but are on the bench.

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PRE-GAME– Man U will be sporting the white kits today. Liverpool in red obviously.

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PRE-GAME– Good morning folks. Today should be a good one between Man Utd and Liverpool. The crowd is buzzing at Anfield this morning.

Interesting to note that Manchester United hasn’t lost at Anfield since 2001.

Comments

  1. I think Da Silva is the long term answer, but he’s also a natural lefty, which I don’t think we’ll ever see on the right for United.

    I believe we’ll see United purchase a young right back in the next 12 months to be the balance to the Da Silva twins on the left side.

    Reply
  2. Nevermind, Giggs is warming up on the field with Hargreaves. We could see Giggs come on for Carrick, pushing Anderson into his preferred central role.

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  3. Rob –

    I think Wes Brown is a horrible central defender. However, as an outside back, he makes great use of his athleticism, and typically provides great service in the box. He’s a particularly good balance to Evra. Also, he really understands how to play off of Rooney or Ronaldo, whichever is on the wing.

    Reply
  4. Van Der Sar’s skills seem to be deteriorating by the game. He’s been particularly bad to start the season.

    Andy Gray is right – Berbatov adds a physical dimension to the front line that wasn’t there before.

    Honestly, Hargreaves is a better fit for that lineup than Carrick is, as they need someone with bite in their tackles.

    I think we’ll see Nani come in for Anderson too, who just isn’t suited to the wing. I think his play is hampering Evra quite a bit.

    Reply
  5. This 3 pronged attack is hella dangerous. Berba added a whole new dimension to United.

    Wes Brown is horrible, the goal wasn’t his fault but he’s still horrible.

    Reply

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