Manchester United not only opened a five point lead over Liverpool in the race for Champions League football after running out 2-1 winners yesterday at Anfield, but they also brought the Reds run of 13-matches without a loss to a crashing halt. If that wasn’t bad enough, it was completely avoidable.
Juan Mata opened the scoring as Brendan Rodgers side, reminiscent of their win over Swansea City earlier in the week, got off to a slow start with their first half performance far below par. Steven Gerrard, making what will very likely be his last appearance against the Red Devils, replaced the injured Adam Lallana at the break only to be sent off less than 40-seconds after the re-start for an ugly, wholly unnecessary stamp on Ander Herrera as the two clashed in the middle of the park following a poor challenge from the Spaniard.
Mata would go on to double the visitors lead with a sensational volley just before the hour, but, reduced to 10-men, the Reds looked to be growing in confidence and Daniel Sturridge would give the hosts hope with a cool finish past David de Gea at the near post with 20-minutes left to play. Liverpool would be the better side for large swathes of the second half, but Louis van Gaal’s side held firm and would be given the opportunity to add some punctuation on the result when Emre Can fouled the industrious Daley Blind in the area.
Referee Martin Atkinson, who didn’t get a whole lot wrong on the day, didn’t hesitate in pointing to the spot. Though you’d expect Mata to step up for a shot at completing his hat-trick, the Spaniard was trumped by United captain Wayne Rooney with the former Evertonian looking for his first goal at Anfield in ten years. Thanks to Simon Mignolet, he didn’t get it.
The Belgian ‘keeper has looked a new man since being dropped for the return fixture back in December and he guessed correctly, diving his right to deny the 29-year old his moment in the sun. Unfortunately for the Reds, this particular boost came too little too late with only another moment of unnecessary roughness — Martin Skrtel leaving a foot in on de Gea as he was came up second best in a race for a ball bound for the United area — left in the tank.
While it’s hard to say whether the Slovakian, who escaped punishment as Atkinson ended the match immediately following the incident, while he could be on the end of some retrospective action from the FA, it’s safe to say that if any is handed down he’s the only one to blame for it — much in the same way that Gerrard is the only one responsible for his actions. Trafficking in would of, could of’s isn’t my style at all, but one can’t help but wonder how this would have played out had it not been for that sudden rush of blood to the head.
With that being said, I have my doubts that anyone will feel worse about the result than him and the media — and myself, for that matter — heaping scorn on a player that has built us up ten times more than he’s ever brought us down, is hardly warranted or even productive for that matter. Besides that, it’s not like we’re doomed.
After the loss at Old Trafford back in December, United opened a 10-point gap. Thirteen matches later, it had been reduced to a pair of points. While we just barely got away with our slow start against the Swans, we were punished for it today; still, we improved in leaps and bounds in the second half following a tactical shift from the boss and that’s something we can continue to build on. There’s lots of football left to be played and though our job just got that much harder, it’s hardly impossible.
–Steven
