Liverpool 3 - 2 Man City
Liverpool took a huge step towards
winning their first title for 24 years as they beat Manchester City at Anfield.
Prior to the game, fans and players alike marked the 25th anniversary of the
Hillsborough disaster with an impeccably observed minute’s silence with the Kop
end holding up cards to produce a huge mosaic in memory of those who lost their
lives during the tragic event.
Vincent Kompany was a doubt for City prior to
kick-off after limping out of training on Saturday. He was passed fit to play
after a solo warm-up; hindsight now suggests he maybe shouldn’t have been
rushed.
Fast starts have become a trademark for Liverpool
this season; the best of which is surely leading Arsenal 4-0 by half time. And
they were at it again as teenager Raheem Sterling gave them the lead after six
minutes. Luis Suarez, who had already been booked for a late challenge on
Martin Demichelis, played a perfect pass behind the City backline into
Sterling, who showed remarkable coolness to turn Kompany inside out and
wrong-foot Joe Hart before slotting into a virtually open goal.
Things got worse for Manuel Pellegrini’s men as
Yaya Toure pulled up sharply with a what he signalled to be a groin problem after
attempting a shot from 30 yards. After struggling for a few minutes he was
replaced by Javi Garcia.
Liverpool were overwhelming the visitors with their
pace, constant pressing and movement. After good work on the right hand side,
Sterling set up Daniel Sturridge with a wonderful cross across the face of
goal, only for the former Chelsea man to glide a finish wide from eight yards.
But only ten minutes later, the reds were 2-0 up.
After Steven Gerrard was left unmarked, his header was brilliantly saved by Joe
Hart, who was celebrating his 250th game for Man City. From the
resulting corner, Martin Skrtel escaped his marker and rose brilliantly to
glance his header past the England ‘keeper into the far corner.
After what was arguably their worst first half of
the season, City mounted a brilliant recovery and were on level terms within 20
minutes of the restart. David Silva pulled one back just before the hour mark,
finishing off a wonderful flowing move. The Spanish magician, who has been in
fine form of late, produced more good work as he exchanged passes with Samir
Nasri before his cross was deflected in off Glen Johnson to draw them level.
After end-to-end football from both sides,
producing a gripping spectacle which was perfectly in-keeping with the emotion
of the day, the defining moment came 12 minutes from time. City captain Vincent
Kompany sliced a clearance from a throw-in straight to Philippe Coutinho, who
shot low and hard on the turn past Joe Hart to put Liverpool’s fate regarding
the title race very much in their own hands.
Jordan Henderson was shown a straight red card
during added time for a late challenge on Samir Nasri, meaning he will miss the
next three games. City can consider themselves further hard done by as referee
Mark Clattenburg missed Skrtel's clear handball in the closing seconds, in
addition to missing what looked like a horrific dive from Luis Suarez which would
have also seen him dismissed.
After the final whistle, a wall of noise surrounded
Anfield and Reds players gathered in a huddle where captain Steven Gerrard was
in tears. The victory was a huge one for Liverpool and
was their 10th in a row. While fellow title chasers Chelsea still
have to go to Anfield, Liverpool will feel that they now have one hand on the
premier League trophy.
No comments:
Post a Comment