BABEL STRIKE ENDS UNITED JINX
Setanta
Sir Alex Ferguson’s Premier League grip over Rafa Benitez finally loosened on Saturday afternoon as a shocking error from Edwin van der Sar and a first of the season for Ryan Babel handed Liverpool a 2-1 victory at Anfield.
It was their first league win over Manchester United since April 2004.
Benitez, whose mission this season is to prevent United from equalling Liverpool's tally of 18 league titles, had only taken one point from eight games against the reigning champions prior to Saturday, but a committed team display overshadowed the individual talents of United, and £30.75 million man Dimitar Berbatov, to hand the Reds a well-deserved victory.
Berbatov was the focus of much of the pre-match build-up and indeed it took just three minutes for the Bulgaria star to leave his mark on one of football's more fearsome derbies when laying the ball on a plate for Carlos Tevez to put United 1-0 up.
The only goal Liverpool had scored in the previous eight Premier League meetings between the two sides had come from the boot of John O'Shea, and it was via another own goal that Liverpool found themselves on equal terms as a horrendous error from Van der Sar saw Wes Brown inadvertently deflect the ball into his own net after 26 minutes.
After taking control of the game after half-time, Liverpool edged into a deserved lead when Babel came off the bench to beat Van der Sar and United's misery was compounded when Nemanja Vidic was shown a red card with seconds remaining.
Benitez's quest to record a first league victory over United in nine attempts started in disastrous fashion though as Liverpool, who had laboured to seven points from three games prior to kick-off, fell behind after only three minutes.
It was Anderson who created the chance as he produced a lovely flick from a Paul Scholes pass to find Berbatov down the right, and when the Bulgarian drove into the box and cut the ball back across the face of goal, Tevez lost Javier Mascherano to produce a superb curling finish to beat Jose Reina.
It was a moment that gave a glimpse of the fluidity and imagination that is expected to characterise United's attacking play this season, but Ferguson’s troops failed to build on their rapid start and, after sustaining some early pressure, Liverpool came back into the game.
The lively Dirk Kuyt volleyed narrowly wide and then should have equalised after 12 minutes. Liverpool were awarded a lucky corner and after Van der Sar spilled the set-piece, Kuyt saw his compatriot recover with a super stop from close range after the ball fell to the feet of the Liverpool forward.
The United keeper looked distinctly unconvincing with dealing with the initial ball though and it was Van der Sar who was culpable for Liverpool’s equaliser after 26 minutes as the reigning champions conceded a farcical own goal.
Xabi Alonso's deflected effort could have been smothered by Van der Sar but instead the keeper opted to try and palm clear, with his questionable decision only succeeding in turning the ball onto the leg of Brown and back past him for the softest of goals to concede.
Tevez almost made immediate amends when flicking the ball over the ball from an Anderson pass, but United were left cursing the error from their keeper as they went into half-time on level terms at Anfield.
The break was not kind for Ferguson either as Michael Carrick was forced off due to injury, with Ryan Giggs coming on in his place.
Two masters of the long range effort, Xabi Alonso and Paul Scholes, exchanged off-target efforts early in the second half and Yossi Benayoun enjoyed the first good chance after the break when only just failing to control and finish past Van der Sar after getting in behind the United defence.
Keane also enjoyed a superb opening on 56 minutes as he looked perfectly placed to side-foot home from a Mascherano mis-hit, but having failed to score in 14 previous starts against United he produced an air-shot to continue his drought.
The Reds were firmly dominating the second half and on 68 minutes they received further impetus when captain Steven Gerrard was introduced as a substitute to mark his return from the groin injury that left him unavailable for England.
However, just minutes after his arrival, the midfielder lost possession and saw Ryan Giggs call Jose Reina into action with a lovely arcing volley that was dipping just under the crossbar before the Spanish keeper got his fingers to it.
When Benitez called for another substitute it was not Torres, but Babel and the Dutchman had an emphatic impact when putting Liverpool in front after 77 minutes.
Giggs was culpable of failing to clear when attempting to shepherd the ball out of play, and Macherano's toe diverted the ball to Kuyt on the touchline. The Dutchman looked up and squared for his countryman who fired the ball past Van der Sar to put Liverpool in front at Anfield.
Having spent most of the second half meandering, United suddenly needed both purpose and direction but only a crude challenge from VIdic, who received a yellow card for his troubles, prevented Keane from bearing down on goal and claiming a third goal for the hosts.
The Serbia international picked up a second booking in the final seconds when clattering into Xabi Alonso in a reckless aerial challenge, and Liverpool should have killed the game off for good when Kuyt saw Van der Sar save with his after after a cute cut-back from Babel.
However, it mattered little in the end as Liverpool held onto record a superb victory over their great rivals and bogey team, while Ferguson was left contemplating a first defeat of the season after only four games.
STAR MAN: Dirk Kuyt. The Dutchman's input is often overlooked but on Saturday he embodied everything that was good about Liverpool's display. Industrious and eager, he also claimed an assist for Ryan Babel's goal. An honourable mention also goes to Xabi Alonso.
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