Match Report: Rooney double beats Liverpool

Sports - Football - Premier League - Man United 2:1 Liverpool

Man of the match Wayne Rooney stole the show with two goals at the start of the second half which saw Manchester United beat Liverpool 2:1 at Old Trafford and return to the top of the Premier League table (for the night).

There were some ugly scenes at the end of both halves, with the saga between Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra hanging over the teams after the Urugayan striker had refused to shake the United defender's hand before the match and clashes continuing into the tunnels. Shame on the players, forgetting the meaning of the word respect, you would have thought the managers would have had a word!

Moving on (as I hoped the teams would and going by their statements, they finally have), the game was more ill-spirited than tempered with only two bookings and both teams cancelling each other out, leaving the main action and possession in the centre of the field.

United bossed the game throughout but Liverpool stayed solid at the back and stubborn in the centre looking like they would not give up that easily and break and get something out of the game.

However, Rio Ferdinand's giveaway to Suarez ended up to be just a consolation goal. It spiced up the end of a game which United controlled and Liverpool held onto as much and long as they could.

But a certain former Evertonian striker had made sure the visitors would not get much out of the match, doubling his tally against the Merseysiders, smashing in a Ryan Giggs corner on 47 and tapping in an easy chance from a fine Antonio Valencia cross three minutes later after Jay Spearing lost the ball to the Ecuadorian winger.

It was not a match to write much about, if it weren't for all the ill temper of certain players, Evra's OTT-celebrations after the match right in front of Suarez not helping the matter much.

I hope now both players and managers had a chance to look back, consider and apologise their actions, we can move on and come back to what it is all about, the game and not a couple of idiots/idiotic actions that are taken out of all proportions and try to spoil and destroy the team spirit of it!

As John Barnes put it best on BBC: "...We are making a mountain out of a molehill. There are worse things happening in the world."

United: De Gea; Evra, Evans, Ferdinand, Rafael da Silva; Giggs, Scholes, Carrick (booked 80), Valencia; Welbeck, Rooney (scored 46:17 & 49:04). 4-4-2
Subs not used: Amos, Fabio da Silva, Park Ji-sung, Cleverley, Pogba, Berbatov, Hernandez.

Liverpool: Reina; Jose Enrique, Agger, Skrtel, Johnson; Downing (booked 45, Bellamy 61), Gerrard,  Spearing (Carroll 61), Kuyt (Adam 75), Henderson; Suarez (scored 79:55). 4-5-1
Subs not used: Doni, Carragher, Kelly, Shelvey.

1st & 2nd half stats:
United-Liverpool
Attempts: 6-4 & 5-3
On target: 3-2 & 3-2
Offsides: 0-1 & 0-3
Corners: 2-2 & 1-1
Free kicks: 5-4 & 5-4
Possession: 62%-38% (BBC, 22 mins), 57.8%-42.2% (Sky, 23 mins), 55.9%-44.1% (1st half, Sky), 52%-48% (BBC, 67 mins), 54.1%-45.9% (Sky, 67 mins), 47%-53% (2nd half possession up to 76. minute, Sky) , 54.6%-45.4% (2nd half, Sky), 54%-46% (FT, Sky), 47%-53% (FT, BBC).

Sky Stats:
United-Liverpool
Passing Success: 87.9%-81.7%
Tackles/Success: 23/78.3%-21/76.2%
Territorial Advantage: 50.1%-49.9%
Action Areas: United 13%-74%-13% Liverpool

Referee: Phil Dowd
Man of the match: Wayne Rooney

All fo(u)r joy at Anfield ahead of big clash

Sports - Football - Europa League - Liverpool 4:1 Steaua Bucharest

After one weak display after another, Liverpool knew they they had to boost their form and determination in preparation for their big Premier League Super Sunday clash ahead against their Northern rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford.

They couldn't have wished for a better start when Joe Cole swooped in on an ugly clumsy backpass by Octavian Abrudan to make it 1-0 after just 26 seconds of play.

But the red storm didn't last long, with the all too familiar clumsiness and carelessness sneaking into their game again, giving their Romanian opposition less to worry about, less pressure to work against.

With eight changes made to the side that drew against Birmingham on Sunday with a lacklustre display and lack of passion, Jay Spearing was one of the youngsters given the chance to impress and so he did.

But in one of thos moments-to-forget, he slipped and to let Bogdan Stancu through to slid a pass to Cristian Tanase who was too quick and broke through between Sotirios Kyrgiakos and Martin Kelly and put the ball up, over, and past a helpless Pepe Reina.

Steaua kept solid and Liverpool more and more frustrated to take them through to half time all square at 1-1.

It took a controversial twist in the second half to turn the game around for Liverpool. Kyrgiakos staged a dramatic tumble onto the ground although replays showed Pantelis Kapetanos hardly touched him - the latter seeing yellow and the prior winning a penalty for his dramatic improvisation for David Ngog to net it comfortably and give the Reds a lucky lead.

But this lucky turn of events seemed to have put Liverpool into gear - finally! Steaua fought hard, not breaking down easily even after the game turned against them. But even their stubbornness and bullishness couldn't stop sub Lucas Leiva's superb right-footed strike from outside the box into the bottm right-hand corner to make it 3-1.

And to put salt onto the Romanians' wound, in injury time, Ngog squeezed between four yellow shirts in the box, looking like he was going to cock it up and waste it, but put a quick solid right-foot shot into the left corner of the net instead, his second goal of the match and sixth of the season - a promising trend in comparison to his eight in total last season.

Let's hope this 4-1 win will also be a promising indication of what is to come and what Liverpool side will turn up at Old Trafford on Sunday...

Liverpool: Reina; Kelly, Kyrgiakos, Agger, Konchesky; Spearing, Meireles, Maxi (booked 63, Pacheco 85), Cole (goal 1, Eccleston 88); Babel (Lucas 78 goal 82), Ngog (goal 55 & 91). 4-5-1
Subs not used: Jones, Johnson, Carragher, Shelvey.

Steaua Bucharest: Tatarusanu; Emeghara (Nicolita 20), Abrudan (booked 44), Geraldo, Latovlevici; Radut (Surdu 73), Angelov (Eder 52 booked 90), Bicfalvi, Tanase (goal 13), Stancu, Kapetanos (booked 55). 4-5-1
Subs not used: Lungu, Gardos, Gomes, Apostol.

1st half stats
Liverpool-Steaua Bucharest
Attempts: 5-3
On target: 3-2
Offsides: 2-1
Corners: 2-1
Free kicks: 5-7

2nd half stats
Liverpool-Steaua Bucharest
Attempts: 9-2
On target: 6-1
Offsides: 1-0
Corners: 7-0
Free kicks: 4-9

Sky Stats
Liverpool-Steaua Bucharest
Possession: 54.8%-45.2%
Passing Success: 84.3%-77.6%
Tackles/Success: 22/81.8%-21/66.7%
Territorial Advantage: 59.9%-40.1%

Referee: Cesar Muniz Fernandez (Spain)
Man of the match: Joe Cole

Pre-Season Friendly Match Report: St. Gallen 0-0 Liverpool

Sports - Football - Pre-Season Friendly - St. Gallen 0:0 Liverpool

It was nice and refreshing to see the new and young faces of Liverpool in action, in preparation to a new season full of expectations on Merseyside.

Glen Johnson made an impressive debut. The £17.5 million signing came on in the second half as part of a full new line-up of the Reds which took over most of the possession and territory. The right-back from Portsmouth put a chance wide just a couple of minutes later. Daniel Pacheco and Yossi Benayoun impressed, pressing through and creating room to take advantage from on numerous occasions throughout the second half.

But the stubborn Swiss side St. Gallen never gave way and put a couple of good chances wide themselves. They enjoyed most of the action and chances in the first half, hitting the post on one occasion and not being tested themselves at all in the first 40 minutes.

Liverpool youngster Jay Spearing impressed though, saw a lot of the ball and burst through the middle a few times. Mikel San José Dominguez learnt by the minute and backed up the Scouser Spearing very well.

It was a highly competitive match, both sides not giving anything away and refreshing their line-ups at half time. Both goalkeepers had hardly a save to make - until the last minute when Benayoun had a good chance saved by St. Gallen's goalkeeper Reto Bolli. Bolli maybe had that bit more to do, especially in the second half, but never looked worried, really.

Overall, Rafael Benítez can be happy with the first runout of his sides, using every player and substitution he had on hand, as always. It would have been cruel for either side to concede and lose out - eventhough it was only a friendly.

St. Gallen Bolli, Fernando (46 Hämmerli), Schenkel (46 Lang), Koubsky (46 Frrokaj), Zellweger (46 Oehri); Nushi (46 Pa Modou), Frei (64 Graf), Costanzo (46 Ciccone), Zé Vitor (46 Martic); Merenda (46 Abegglen), Cáceres (64 Frick).

Liverpool Cavalieri (46 Martin, 80 Gulacsi); Insua (46 Johnson), San José (46 Skrtel), Carragher (46 Kelly, 80 Ayala), Spearing (46 Darby); Babel (46 Benayoun), Voronin (46 Leiva), Gerrard (46 Plessis), Degen (46 Kuyt); Nemeth (46 Ngog), El Zhar (46 Pacheco).

1st half stats: St. Gallen-Liverpool
Attempts: 4-1
On target: 0-1
Offsides: 1-1
Corners: 5-3
Free kicks: 2-2

2nd half stats: St. Gallen-Liverpool
Attempts: 1-7
On target: 0-2
Offsides: 0-1
Corners: 0-4
Free kicks: 1-3

Referee: SR Zimmermann