Match Centre

By Darshan Joshi, writing in Sydney

It may be stretching the truth a little had I begun this by saying that there was only one team on the field, but it wouldn’t be a lie either. There was one moment during the match when it seemed as though Liverpool weren’t in grotesquely severe control of the match – Dimitar Berbatov lashed a half-volley, so curvaceous it may have made this month’s Playboy centrefold, beyond Pepe Reina, but, alas! All it did was shake the frame of the Spaniard’s goalmouth. And then there was a silence. Liverpool’s defensive third remained untouched for a long, long period, like a virgin resolutely set on prolonging its spell of abstinence. The picture is painted clearer than a van Gogh masterpiece when you notice the possession statistics: the Devils with 58% of the ball, yet, this very ball remained in United’s half for the majority of the match. And when United did get their goal, oh, if only there wasn’t a period of ninety minutes before then!

The Reds, led exceptionally by Luis Suarez, were stunning. Anfield was electric, buzzing more than a florist’s cash register on Valentine’s Day. They were slaughtering the old enemy. The goalscoring hero of the afternoon, Dirk Kuyt, might not net a simpler hat trick in his life, and yet, there won’t be many sweeter than this one. The aforementioned Uruguayan, though, carved himself a star in Liverpool’s very own walk of fame. There was ridiculously perfect drunken sashay through the Manchester United defence to set Kuyt up for the opener. We shouldn’t forget that he was actually the last Liverpool man to touch the ball en route to Kuyt’s second, and in the second-half, he sent a curling free kick through United’s wall. Edwin van der Sar fumbled, and Liverpool’s blonde Dutchman slammed home his third tap-in of the night. Luis Suarez was a god, of sorts, on this fine day.

Meanwhile, we saw Sir Alex Ferguson like never before. Well, from a dental perspective anyway. If the rate at which his teeth were dangerously chomping at his gum were an indication of the rate at which the world’s oil prices are currently rising, we’ll all find ourselves in more of a quagmire than we are. Poor Wrigley’s, you should never be treated in such a way. His opposite number, the birthday boy Kenny Dalglish, couldn’t be filled with more glee had he been on that television show; his charges were fulfilling their task with such grace and grit. Is it possible for his reputation to skyrocket any further?

What we witnessed today will have implications on the title race. Of this there cannot be any doubt. While Manchester United remain the league leaders, that can’t be the case for much longer. Luck has deserted them, and this represented a second defeat in the same week. And to think that they were dreaming of an unbeaten season not too long ago… how the last month has eroded their confidence. This isn’t the time to consider the sprint for the Premier League trophy, though. Today, all we do is applaud Liverpool following a gorgeous dismantling of the team aiming to overtake their haul of league titles.