Edwin Van Der Sar and Wayne Rooney were not included in the squad, as both failed to recover in time. Nemanja Vidic was a late omission with a knock picked-up in training. Tomasz Kuszczak started in-goal, while Jonny Evans replaced Vidic. Ryan Giggs started on the left wing, with Chicharito started alongside Dimitar Berbatov in-place of Rooney.
Liverpool got the game underway, but were quickly dispossessed. The game got off to a quick start, as a ball from United's defence was collected by Dimitar Berbatov - who was caught by Daniel Agger. Berba's fall was a tad late, but referee Howard Webb gave the penalty. Ryan Giggs stepped-up to convert the penalty past Pepe Reina, who dived the correct way. The Red Devils were ahead within just 2 minutes.
Yes, after 2 minutes... the game was over already.
[Image]The protest by the Liverpool players. LOL.
[Image]A very cool penalty by Ryan Giggs.
Luis Nani and Darren Fletcher were lively up-front, but were not having the best of days - losing possession several times. However, Sir Alex's Red Army was solidly in command, looking to build on their early lead. Little did Kenny Dalglish's side impress their new manager, testing Tomasz Kuszczak was a rare occasion.
As United pressed, Steven Gerrard committed to a two-footed lunge on Michael Carrick. Gerrard's tackle ended-up nowhere near the ball - and ref. Webb showed the Liverpool captain a straight red. There was no complaint from Mr. Liverpool, knowing he had slashed his side's odds to go on to recover a lead.