English Premier League: Detailed Player by Player review for Manchester United versus Liverpool – Part 1
The first meeting between the two English football giants, Manchester United and Liverpool ended in a toughly contested victory for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men. It was a game which had everything in it from controversial decisions
to brilliantly taken goals. Where there were some players who played out of their skin and defied all logic, there were those as well who failed to make their mark on the game, only father time will tell whether these players will ever be the same again or
will they feed on this adversity and come back stronger.
Edwin Van Der Sar, the Manchester United goal keeper was one of the most comfortable players on the Old Trafford field. He organized his defence well and banked on his defenders to do the simplest of things. It should not be forgotten
that Van Der Sar who is almost forty years old now is one of the oldest players in the game but still the Dutchman is like a wine which is getting better with age. He didn’t have to work hard in all honesty for his team’s victory.
Manchester United did concede two goals but those goals in all honesty were a result of their own mistakes rather than Liverpool’s creative workout. One thing that the former Juventus player should be applauded for is his ability
to distribute, unlike other keepers in the English Premier League, Van Der Sar exhibited a part of his game which is not often talked about that much, he was superb when it came to throwing or kicking the ball or even clearing it. Something that one should
expected from a goalkeeper who has been to two European cup finals in the previous four years.
United’s left back and perhaps the most consistent performer for them in the past 4 years, three of which resulted in English league wins, Patrice Evra was back to his best against the Merseysiders, Evra was instrumental at the
left wing back position which he has made his own at Manchester United. The little Frenchman who is often criticized for his weak aerial ability was solid in dealing with any long balls that came his way.
He was also his usual energetic self as far as going forward in attack was concerned. Evra constantly provided support to Ryan Giggs down the left hand side of United’s attack and his clever runs were a problem for Carragher and
Johnson to deal with. Evra’s main threat to the opposition teams comes from his ability to keep up his rampaging runs throughout the full ninety minutes of the match, this is exactly what Liverpool had to face. Not only that, his defensive awareness and definite
tackling capability sets him apart from other contenders for the world’s best left back position.
Right back position has been a tumultuous one for Manchester United ever since Gary Neville’s age and injuries became a recurring factor. In the 2007-2008 season, Wes Brown did well for them but he wasn’t as impressive as other
people in the side and didn’t ooze that class that the likes of Berbatov and Rooney did. In the match against Liverpool, Ferguson deployed John O’Shea at the right back position, the Irishman has come under condemnation from experts and fans alike for his
below-par displays so far this season and Liverpool at Old Trafford was no different.
His late tackle on Fernando Torres almost cost United the game and if the referee wasn’t lenient with him then Manchester United could well have been playing the last ten minutes of the match with ten men. O’Shea’s distribution
was horrible throughout the match, he did go some way in redeeming himself with an assist for Berbatov’s third goal but other than that, John’s performance was quite hopeless.
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