Manchester United 1 - 0 Liverpool
And so Kenny Dalglish's first game back in charge of Liverpool resulted in a defeat which ended our interest in the FA Cup at the Third Round stage for the second consecutive year. However, it is a rare defeat to Manchester United which ends with fans feeling more optimistic about the future than they had at the start. That is certainly the feeling I have, and looking around some of the reaction from around the web it would appear that I'm not alone.
Kenny sent the Reds out with a familiar shape, and it wasn't Roy Hodgson's 4-4-2. With Lucas anchoring the midfield and Kuyt coming inside from the right flank it appeared to be a 4-1-4-1 from Liverpool at the outset, with Torres back in his more familiar role as lone spearhead.
The worst possible start of course. As the title of this post illustrates, there is no doubt in my mind that the penalty decision was incorrect. Dimitar Berbatov cheated. It really is that simple. For me, there is a huge problem with football in this country when we are not prepared to criticise cheating when we see it. And Berbatov (just to repeat myself) cheated. Howard Webb overruled his linesman (who didn't flag) despite being in a worse position and decided to hand United the perfect start to the game.
The fact that it is not the first time that Webb has 'distinguished' himself in United v Liverpool encounters (and always, it feels, in favour of United) only adds to the sense of burning injustice. Now I am not suggesting that Webb is, in fact, biased (although his record makes that allegation less implausible than it might otherwise be), but there must be a case for the FA and the Premier League to start appointing a different referee to take charge of these encounters. The list of marginal (and in today's case, not so marginal) decisions which Webb has given in favour of United in recent years is long, and yet when this most intense of fixtures appears on the calendar, as sure as night follows days Webb is assigned to referee. Neutral fans will no doubt accuse Liverpool supporters of sour grapes, being bad losers etc etc, but quite frankly the repeated blunders made by Webb in the past season makes his position as England's supposedly elite referee look increasingly ridiculous.
As for Berbatov, he even had the gumption to appear before the post match cameras to state how 'everyone knows I don't go to ground easily'. Really Dimitar? ITV's studio guests (consisting of Sam Allardyce and Gareth 'cliche' Southgate) then decided that it would be appropriate to reward Berbatov for cheating by giving him the Man of the Match award. I bet that sent a great message to any young footballers watching. Not only is cheating now accepted in our national game, we're rapidly approaching a situation in which it is actively encouraged. The FA should take steps to stamp it out (retrospective bans would achieve this in about a week), but we all know they won't.
So 1-0 down inside 2 minutes. The response was very encouraging, with the Reds playing from the back and Agger in particular looking in good nick. The route one approach away from home seen so often under Hodgson was absent, replaced by some slick passing which was easy on the eye even if we failed to carve out too many clear chances. The game seemed set fair for a decent cup tie until Webb intervened once again.
As a loose ball broke on the left hand side Rafael and Meireles contested a 50/50 ball, Rafael left the floor with both feet studs showing, and Meireles decided that discretion was the better part of valour and got out of the way. As play was recycled another 50/50 broke loose and Gerrard and Carrick both ploughed in. Webb, if you watch the replay from the reverse angle, was not in fact even watching the initial contact, nor the angle of Gerrard's challenge, but nevertheless decided that he had seen enough to warrant a red card, which he duly delivered. It is tempting to lay the blame at the feet of the referee, and it was certainly a decision which could have gone either way, but the real culprit was Gerrard himself. The challenge was two footed and out of control and Webb was probably justified in holding that Gerrard had used 'excessive force' and had endangered his opponent.
Sadly for the neutrals the red card effectively ended the game as a contest. Dalglish highlighted in his post match comments the courage and commitment shown by his players, and that is something which was very encouraging. It was certainly a world away from the limp defeat at Blackburn last week. If Kenny's arrival results in a similar level of commitment for the remainder of the season it is difficult not to see us moving quickly up the table. As for Gerrard, no one will surely feel worse than he will, and missing the derby next week (when the atmosphere is surely going to be fantastic) will ram home how foolish he has been.
A few final thoughts...
1. It was great to see Kenny substitute Torres. I don't agree with some of the criticism Torres appears to be taking for his effort. I felt he could have been stronger on a few occasions, but he had a lonely role to play up front alone once we went down to ten. Nevertheless, Hodgson always appeared too afraid to take him off even when he was struggling, and it stamped Kenny's authority on the side immediately that he was not afraid to do so.
2. What a performance from the fans - they never let the noise level drop despite the situation on the pitch, and I for one salute all those who played their part.
3. Martin Kelly was outstanding. For a young lad thrust into the side as a late replacement for Glen Johnson (whose wife went into labour) up against Giggs and Evra he more than held his own, and also showed some excellent forays forwards. It is great to see a local lad with real promise coming through the ranks, and in his appearances to date he really has shown the potential to go on and cement a place in the side.
4. It feels like we have our club back again - the pre-match nerves arrived this morning, when they have been sadly absent of late. It may be seen as melodramatic, but after living through the last days of Hicks and Gillett, and then suffering through the reign of Roy, to see a team led out by Dalglish and perform with pride and passion was a real pleasure, even despite the result.
It is clear that there is no overnight fix to the problems at the club, the squad remains thin and results are still desperately required to remedy the dreadful league position, but it feels like the storm has passed. Whether Kenny can lead us to the golden sky in the short term remains to be seen.
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