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| Liverpool 1 - 1 Manchester City | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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KEWELL
GOAL ENOUGH TO SINK CITY Harry Kewell was the match-winner as Liverpool bounced back from their midweek Champions League disappointment with a hard-earned but deserved 1-0 win against 10-man Manchester City at Anfield. Kewell struck the decisive goal five minutes before half-time in a game that saw City's Scouse midfielder Joey Barton sent off for a second bookable offence early in the second half. The Reds enjoyed plenty of possession during the 90 minutes and had enough chances to increase their margin of victory but for the third consecutive home game a lone goal sufficed. After experiencing contrasting cup fortunes at home and abroad during the previous eight days, Rafa's men returned to Premiership action with the aim of strengthening their claims for second spot against a City side they defeated 1-0 at the City of Manchester Stadium in November. With Jamie Carragher suspended, Momo Sissoko injured, Robbie Fowler ineligible to face his former club due to the terms of his recent transfer and Luis Garcia benched, Rafael Benitez made four changes to the team that had started against Benfica in midweek. Skipper Steven Gerrard returned in his favoured central midfield position, FA Cup hero Peter Crouch was recalled up front, Daniel Agger partnered Sami Hyypia in the centre of defence and Jan Kromkamp lined up on the right flank. The early morning kick-off made for a subdued Anfield atmosphere as the game got underway but the Reds were quick into their stride and dominated the opening stages. A succession of early corners threatened a rapid breakthrough, with Crouch heading wide from a Gerrard cross and Kewell having a close-range effort well blocked by City skipper Sylvan Distin at the near post. A lull in play then descended before Hyypia rose to glance a header wide and a poor clearance by David James almost offered Fernando Morientes a free shot an open goal. Former Red James was easily the busier of the two keepers and moments later he was forced into action again when Kewell let fly from 25-yards with an effort that was struck straight at the City number one. Liverpool suffered an injury blow just after the half hour mark when Xabi Alonso was forced to leave the field after failing to recover from an earlier clash of heads with Joey Barton but their wait for a deadlock-breaking goal was not long in coming. Kewell was the scorer, coolly slotting the ball low past the outstretched James and into the bottom far corner after racing clear down the left, but it owed much to the midfield vision of Gerrard who picked out the Aussie with a sublime pass from inside the centre circle. The opening strike sparked a further flurry of activity in the City goalmouth on the stroke of half-time as the Reds threatened to settle the contest before the break with Crouch seeing a header cleared off the line by Danny Mills and Gerrard driving a menacing ball across the face of goal. City's hopes of mounting a second-half comeback took a severe knock within seven minutes of the restart when they were reduced to ten men following the dismissal of Barton. The Huyton-born midfielder, who had received a first half caution for a foul on Agger, was shown a second yellow for a late challenge on Hyypia. As so often is the case though, the visitors responded positively to the sending off and almost immediately carved out three opportunities to draw level. First, substitute Bradley Wright-Phillips forced Pepe Reina into his first save of the afternoon with a well-struck shot from the left side of the box. A Trevor Sinclair strike from 25-yards out was then superbly tipped over by Reina just when it looked to be heading for the top corner and to round off a worrying five-minute spell for the Reds Georgios Samaras charged through from midfield but woefully failed to find the target with only the keeper to beat. A delightful back-heel from Crouch, which rolled agonisingly wide, and a pile-driver that crashed against the crossbar ensured the fans remained on the edge of their seats as play swung from end to end. A second Liverpool goal would have killed off City's brave fight but the failure find one frustratingly meant yet another nervous Anfield finale ensued. Thankfully, one proved to be enough and the hot pursuit of second-placed Manchester United continues, with only goal difference now keeping us below them. Teams Liverpool (4-4-2): Reina, Riise, Agger, Hyypia, Finnan, Kewell, Alonso, Gerrard, Kromkamp, Crouch, Morientes. Subs - Cisse, Dudek, Garcia, Hamann, Traore. Manchester City (4-4-2): James, Riera, Distin, Dunne, Mills, Sibierski, Barton, Jordan, Musampa, Samaras, Sinclair. Subs - Croft, Ireland, Sommeil, Weaver, Wright-Phillips. Referee: Dermot Gallagher Conditions: Attendance: 44,121 Liverpoolfc.tv Man-of-the-Match: Steven Gerrard Breakdown 12:18 GMT : Match Starts 1 min : City kick off attacking the Kop in the first half 1 min : Kewell finds acres of room down the left but his deep cross is well held by James 4 mins : Samaras threatens to break through for City but Alonso is fouled in the process and a free kick is given 6 mins : Morientes tries a shot on the turn which is deflected over for a corner to the Reds 7 mins : Crouch wins the ball in the air from Gerrard's corner but can't keep his effort on target 8 mins : Good defending by Distin to block kewell's goalbound volley and concede another corner 14 mins : Gerrard tries to work a one two with Kewell on the edge of the box but it fails to come off and City clear 18 mins : Alonso takes a bang on the head in an aerial battle and needs treatment on the field 21 mins : Alonso returns to the pitch after a few minutes receiving treatment in the changing room 23 mins : Gerrard's curling free kick is glanced goalwards by Hyypia but the ball misses the far post by a couple of feet 25 mins : James totally mis-kicks a clearance but the ball doesn't fall nicely for a red shirt to shoot at the unguarded goal 26 mins : Kewell sends a swerving shot goalwards from distance but James' handling is good on his line 30 mins : Booking: Joey Barton: Late challenge on Agger 31 mins : Substitution: Dietmar Hamann for Xabi Alonso: 36 mins : Sibierski fires a low shot towards Reina's goal but drags the ball well wide 40 mins : GOAL! Harry Kewell: Gerrard finds Kewell with a great pass and the Aussie makes no mistake with a low drive 45 mins : One extra minute to be played 45 mins : Crouch's header from Gerrard's corner is scrambled off the line 13:04 GMT : Half Time Reached 13:21 GMT : Second Half Begins 46 mins : Substitution: Bradley Wright-Phillips for Antoine Sibierski: 46 mins : Liverpool get the second period underway 47 mins : Great wing play by Kewell down the left but he just over-runs the ball and loses the chance to cross 49 mins : Hamann slides the ball into Morientes' path but James makes an easy save from the Spaniard's low strike 50 mins : Hyypia makes amends for his own error in the area and denies Samaras a run on goal 52 mins : Sending Off: Joey Barton: Late lunge on Hyypia earns Barton a second yellow card 54 mins : Crouch misses the far post by inches with a delicate flick after Kewell's cross from the left 55 mins : Wright-Phillips has space on the left and Reina needs to make a sharp save at his near post 56 mins : Reina makes another great save to tip the ball over with Sinclair's effort heading for the top corner 58 mins : Kromkamp does well to win the ball on the right but his low cross is missed by Crouch in the box 59 mins : Samaras has a golden chance to level the scores but slices his shot well wide with only Reina to beat. City making chances now 64 mins : Crouch cracks an effort onto the top of the bar after a neat turn to create space for himself 67 mins : Substitution: Stephen Ireland for Trevor Sinclair: 69 mins : Gerrard charges forward and unleashes a low drive which is deflected for a corner 74 mins : James is off his line quickly to deny Crouch who strikes left footed towards the far corner 75 mins : Substitution: Luis Garcia for Peter Crouch: 77 mins : Gerrard needs treatment after Dunne denies him a shooting chance with a great last ditch tackle 78 mins : Substitution: Lee Croft for Albert Riera: 85 mins : Substitution: Djimi Traore for Harry Kewell: 90 mins : Three extra minutes to be played 90 mins : Riise smashes a shot into the side netting after cutting in from the left 14:09 GMT : Match Over Copyright of Official Site Liverpool FC |
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