Sunday 23 March 2008 13:30 FA Barclays Premier League
"Manchester United"	3 - 0	"Liverpool"
	(1-0)
GOAL
Brown 34, Ronaldo 78, Nani 81
1  Edwin Van Der Saar   3  Patrice Evra   5  Rio Ferdinand  15  Numanja Vidic   6  Wes Brown  11  Ryan Giggs (c)  16  Michael Carrick   8  Anderson   7  Cristiano Ronaldo  10  Wayne Rooney  18  Paul Scholes  Subs:  29  Tomasz Kuszczak  22  John O'Shea   4  Owen Hargreaves  17  Luis Nani  32  Carlos Tevez.		25  Jose Reina  17  Alvaro Arbeloa  12  Fabio Aurelio  23  Jamie Carragher  37  Martin Skrtel  14  Xabi Alonso  19  Ryan Babel   8  Steven Gerrard (c)  20  Javier Mascherano  18  Dirk Kuyt  10  Fernando Torres  Subs:  30  Charles Itandje   4  Sami Hyypia   6  John Arne Riise  11  Yossi Benayoun  15  Peter Crouch
SUBSTITUTIONS
Giggs ( 73)  Tevez (Anderson 73)		Babel (Benayoun 66)  Torres (Riise 83)
OFFICIALS & BOOKINGS
Referee: Steve Bennett (Kent)
Booked: Ferdinand 60		Booked: Mascherano 11, Torres 44, Arbeloa 53  Sent Off: Mascherano 44
VENUE		MANAGERS
Old Trafford  (capacity ) Attendance: 76,000		Alex Ferguson (Manchester U) Rafael Benitez (Liverpool)

  Price: J

  MASCH SEES RED IN OLD TRAFFORD DEFEAT

  Rafa Benitez will have to wait another year for his first league win over Man Utd after Liverpool fell to a 3-0 defeat in a match which saw Javier Mascherano sent off.

  Wes Brown's first-half opener made life difficult for the Reds at a packed Old Trafford, but their task was made virtually impossible by the harsh dismissal of Mascherano amid scenes of dissent on the stroke of half-time.

  Late strikes from Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani added to the visitors' misery, and the result means Liverpool are now just two points clear of fifth-placed Everton going into next week's Merseyside derby.

  Confidence had been high going into the first part of Grand Slam Sunday following seven straight wins, so much so that Benitez felt able to select an unchanged side from that which beat Reading last week.

  Meanwhile, his United counterpart looked to pack the midfield, with former Toffee Wayne Rooney operating as a lone striker.

  It was Fabio Aurelio who had the job of stopping 33-goal Ronaldo, not that the Brazilian looked daunted. He left the winger on his backside after just two minutes with a cheeky turn. The travelling Kop was most definitely amused.

  They had their hearts in their mouths within an instant, however,
when Rooney broke free, expertly holding off Jamie Carragher before attempting to swerve a shot round the onrushing Pepe Reina. The Spanish stopper had to be at his best to make the save.

  Benitez shuffled his pack again, introducing Ryan Babel for Benayoun on 72 minutes. Like Lucas, the Dutchman didn't waste any time making an impact, driving down the right before sending the ball towards Torres. Under pressure, Liverpool's top scorer hit narrowly wide.
  He needed to be smart off his line again on 10 minutes when Rooney got through once more. Worrying signs for the Reds, whose midfield fight was then hampered by a booking for Mascherano for a foul on Paul Scholes.

  There was one crumb of comfort: it was now 2-0 to Aurelio in his personal battle with Ronaldo after he broke free from the Portuguese in the United box. But, with acres of space to pick out a teammate, the left-back chose the wrong option, blasting high and wide.

  Still, it prompted Fergie to temporarily move his boy wonder over to the left, from where he immediately skipped past Xabi Alonso before being stopped in his tracks by Mascherano.

  The red-booted attacker then had his best chance of the opening 45, finding space at the back post before heading against the woodwork. Not that it would have counted - the linesman's flag was raised.

  Another moment of panic came on 33 minutes when Giggs sent a dipping cross goalwards. There looked to be little danger until Reina spilt the ball but the Spaniard recovered just in time.

  Torres and Steven Gerrard were feeding off scraps at the other end, though the skipper went close with a thunderous volley from the edge of the box. He probably didn't know much about it, but the slightest deflection from Nemanja Vidic proved vital as the ball flew inches over the bar.

  Then came the opener, Scholes spreading wide to Rooney before he sent a teasing cross into the middle. With Reina committed, all Brown had to do was get their first. He did, and the ball bounced into an empty net.

  If that was bad for Liverpool, what followed left a bitter taste in the mouth. Referee Steve Bennett had just booked Torres for dissent when Mascherano opted to have his say.

  On another day, he would undoubtedly have gone unpunished, but in a week when the treatment of officials has filled the back pages, it was perhaps unsurprising to see the man in black reach for his pocket.

  Ugly scenes ensued as the upset Argentine, who replays clearly showed was treated harshly, had to be placated first by Gerrard, then Alex Miller, and finally Benitez himself.

  Another Spaniard was putting out fires immediately after the restart when Reina thwarted Ronaldo, who had now pulled just about level with Aurelio, with a superb save from close range.

  Referee Bennett was then called into action once more when Arbeloa yanked down Anderson right on the chalk of the Liverpool box. Fortunately it was a free-kick, not a penalty, not that there's much to be thankful about when the man standing over the ball is the Premier League's top scorer. Thirty seconds later a trademark zipper was on its way to the Stretford End goal, though not quite accurate enough to test Reina.

  Not that there was any respite for the Reds custodian. Minutes later Rooney found himself through for the third time only to be denied by the legs Liverpool's Spanish goalkeeper.

  With Gerrard now in a deeper midfield role, the Merseysiders were firmly on the back foot.

  Reina was required to make two more world-class saves, first from substitute Carlos Tevez, then when that man Ronaldo fooled the visiting defence, who stood en masse with their arms aloft.

  The Portugal international would not be denied much longer, however. For it was from the resulting corner that he made it 2-0, shaking off Alonso before heading into the bottom right-hand corner.

  Two minutes later it was game over when Nani dribbled across the edge of Liverpool's box before unleashing a fine strike beyond Reina.

  The Reds' world-class stopper may be disappointed with the first goal, but his performance thereafter did not warrant having to pick the ball out of the net three times.

  Despite the result, and the inevitable suspension of Mascherano, Rafa and his squad know fourth spot and the race to Moscow remain very much in their own hands.

  Teams

  Manchester United: Van der Sar, Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic, Brown, Giggs (captain), Carrick, , Ronaldo, Scholes, Rooney. Subs - O'Shea, , Kuszczak, Tevez, Hargreaves.

  Liverpool: Reina, Aurelio, Carragher, Skrtel, Arbeloa, Babel, Alonso, Mascherano, Kuyt, Gerrard (captain), Torres. Subs - Hyypia, Benayoun, Itandje, Crouch, Riise.

  Referee: Steve Bennett

  Conditions: Bitter

  Attendance: 76,000

  Liverpoolfc.tv Man-of-the-Match: Fabio Aurelio

  Breakdown

13:32 GMT : Match Starts
1 min : Liverpool kick off
1 min : Rafa's men are playing in their changed strip of white shirts and black shorts
3 mins : Torres almost closes down Van der sar, but the United stopper clears
3 mins : Arbeloa robbs Giggs, but his cross is too long for Torres and Babel
5 mins : Liverpool have started well, Kuyt finds space in the area, but he can't find Torres
6 mins : Anderson's pass puts Rooney through, but Reina makes a good stop
9 mins : Rooney gets in behind us again, but Reina again reacts well and thwarts him
11 mins : First Booking: Javier Mascherano: Masch is cautioned for a foul on Scholes
12 mins : Babel's run earns the Reds a corner
13 mins : Liverpool take the corner short and Alonso's pass finds Aurelio, but his shot is well wide
17 mins : United try to apply some pressure, but Arbeloa is strong and clears
21 mins : Mascherano makes a fine tackle on Ronaldo as he looks to skip into a shooting position
22 mins : Reina's on his toes again to act as sweeper
24 mins : I said Reina was having a good game, he's just made a great save from Ronaldo's far post shot. The flag was up, but Reina wasn't to know that
25 mins : On second viewing Ronaldo's shot hit the post, but Reina did have it covered
27 mins : Kuyt's flick gives Gerrard a shooting chance and his half volley is deflected narrowly over
27 mins : The resulting corner almost falls to Torres, but United clear
32 mins : Good passing gives Torres a half chance, but Carrick covers and his shot is wide
33 mins : Reina needs two attempts to clear Giggs' cross, but clear it he does
33 mins : The Reds race to the other end and win a corner, but it comes to nothing
34 mins : GOAL! Wes Brown: Brown heads home Rooney's cross
40 mins : Ronaldo is lining up a free kick, but it looks too far out even for him
40 mins : The Liverpool does it's job, but Reina still needs to save from Rooney. Reina has had an up and down first half, making some vital moves, but also some poor ones
42 mins : Babel does well on the left to win a corner
42 mins : The corner reaches Alonso on the penalty spot, but his shot is well over
44 mins : First Booking: Fernando Torres: Torres is frustrated and talks himself into a booking
44 mins : Second Booking: Javier Mascherano: Disaster for Liverpool as Mascherano is given a second booking for speaking out of turn
44 mins : The Reds are up against it now, but they might be entitled to feel hard done by
14:19 GMT : Half Time Reached

14:35 GMT : Second Half Begins
46 mins : United get the second half under way. Having seen the replays off Mascherano's second yellow, it was an extremely harsh decision
47 mins : Ronaldo looks offside, but he's not and Reina has to make another fine stop
47 mins : Despite their numerical disadvantage the Reds wont give this up and Gerrard shows that when he brings a good save from Van der Sar
51 mins : As you'd expect United are enjoying a lot of possession, but Liverpool have no choice but to sit and wait for a chance, at least for now
53 mins : First Booking: Alvaro Arbeloa: Arbeloa's foul gives United a free kick right on the edge of the area, danger
54 mins : Relief as Ronaldo can't find the target
55 mins : Carragher blocks Rooney's long range effort, Liverpool are having to defend well
56 mins : Rooney latches onto Van der Sar's long kick and Reina makes another brilliant stop to keep the Reds in touch
60 mins : First Booking: Rio Ferdinand: Ferdinand is booked for kicking the ball away
61 mins : Anderson hits one from 25 yards and it's easy for Reina
63 mins : Rafa is getting Benayoun ready, we could see a change soon
66 mins : Substitution: Yossi Benayoun for Ryan Babel:
68 mins : A foul on Alonso gives the Reds a chance to launch it into the area
69 mins : Torres does brilliantly to break into the area, but he's foiled just as he is about to shoot
71 mins : Torres flicks down Gerrard's pass, but there's no one there. This is a good spell for the Reds
72 mins : The ball breaks to Gerrard on the edge of the United box, but his shot is wide
73 mins : It's United playing on the break now, Rooney gets free and crosses to Anderson, but his shot is well over
73 mins : Substitution: Nani for Ryan Giggs:
73 mins : Substitution: Carlos Tevez for Anderson :
74 mins : Arbeloa makes a good interception, but the ball runs to Reina and he has to make yet another excellent save
76 mins : Torres goes down under tackle from Carrick and requires attention
79 mins : Everyone thinks Ronaldo is off, but he wasn't and Reina makes another superb save
79 mins : GOAL! Cristiano Ronaldo: The game looks up for the Reds now
81 mins : GOAL! Nani : Nani gives the scoreline an unfair look, it doesn't tell the full story
82 mins : Substitution: John Arne Riise for Fernando Torres:
89 mins : United are stroking the ball around now
90 mins : There will be a minimum of three minutes added time
15:23 GMT : Match Over

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