ESPN actually had a decent early morning game on this Saturday morning with Liverpool vs. Manchester United. It was very tight on the field for all of the first half and even into some of the second. Even with these two great teams, I started to wonder by the 60th minute if it was going to end scoreless. Luckily it didn’t.
Not that it was the best score from a free kick, but Gerrard first scored for Liverpool in the 68th minute. It was a freekick just outside the front center of the box. Gerrard basically curled it right at the wall of Man U and off all people to fail at wall duties, Ryan Giggs let the ball through. It looked like he was almost dodging away from the ball to not get hurt, but that’s not something you would expect from a seasoned veteran like him. In any case, there was nothing for keeper De Gea to do and the ball hit the cords and Liverpool was up 1-0.
After that, Ferguson finally substituted in the big guns – Rooney and Nani – to try to get caught up. The game also began to loosen up a bit as the players’ legs got tired. Ferguson picked the perfect time to make the double substitution and to bring in the aforementioned players. He added to those two subs a few minutes later and brought in the speedy Mexican rising star Chicharito (Javier Hernandez). That final sub made all the difference as Chicharito poached a nice headed goal from a deflection in the box.
The match ended very fairly as a 1-1 draw. Liverpool possibly deserved to win considering how even they played against a Manchester United side that seems to be rolling over the competition so far this season. I would doubt however that in hindsight any Liverpudlian would complain from getting a point from the match. ManU fans though have the right to wonder what could have been. If Rooney, Nani, and Chicharito would have been in from the start would it have been another easy win? Manager Ferguson clearly knows what he’s doing, but it does make you wonder.
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