Football Live

Sunday March 23, 2008 Finished Old Trafford

Manchester United 3 - Logo 0

Manchester United

  • Brown 34’
  • Ronaldo 79’
  • Nani 81’

Liverpool

  1. Mascherano off as United cruise

    Mascherano off as United cruise

    Manchester United took full advantage of Javier Mascherano's dismissal to cruise to a 3-0 win over arch rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Manchester United
    • Liverpool
    • 90'+2 There goes the final whistle! And United move six points clear - for the time being at least!
    • 87' The 'oles' go up arond Old Trafford as United start to play the ball around nicely...
    • 83' Liverpool make their final change... Torres goes off with a hint of a hobble, while John Arne Riise comes on.
    • 81' GOAL! IT'S ANOTHER! NANI MAKES IT THREE! The Portuguese runs onto a cute Rooney through ball before cutting inside and hammering a right footed drive back across the face of Reina and into the back of the net!
    • 79' GOAL! THERE IT IS! RONALDO HEADS HOME HIS 34TH OF THE SEASON TO SURELY SEAL ALL THREE POINTS!
    • 78' Ronaldo! Must be! No! Reina deflects his shot onto the bar! Corner to United!
    • 78' This game's not over yet... United still need another goal to kill it off...
    • 74' Chance for Tevez with his first touch! Great save from Reina! And Nani can't get on the rebound!
    • 73' United make a change now... a double one at that...Tevez and Nani on for Anderson and Giggs...
    • 72' Lovely play from Rooney on the left... he skips past Carragher before laying it off to Anderson! Oh dear! Over the bar from the Brazilian as the crowd cries 'take a touch'!
    • 70' The ball falls kindly to Gerrard on the edge of the area! But he slices his shot somewhat and the ball rolls wide of Van der Sar's post!
    • 68' United break now... but Ronaldo's pass looking for Anderson is intercepted - just - by Skrtel!
    • 66' Rafa Benitez decides it's time for a change... Babel goes off and is replaced by Benayoun.
    • 64' Torres goes in on Vidic a little late... and the ref comes over to assess the situation... he decides not to reduce Liverpool to nine men, but Torres can't afford another bad challenge.
    • 60' Ferdinand is the next to go into the book... for kicking the ball away.
    • 58' It seems just a matter of time before United get on the scoresheet again... but they need another - Liverpool are more than capable of breaking.
    • 56' Rooney! Oooh! This time he brings down a long ball perfectly, but again Reina gets in the way to make the save! Anderson on the rebound! Oooh... over the bar!
    • 54' Ronaldo steps up... but fires wide of Reina's upright!
    • 53' Arbeloa goes into the book for a tug on Anderson... free kick now to United, right on the edge of the box!
    • 48' United will look to make their man advantage pay this half... and already they're already playing the ball around nicely and keeping possession.
    • 47' Ooh! Great chance to make it two immediately after the restart! Scholes dinks the ball through for Ronaldo, but Reina is quick off his line to make the save!
    • 46' No changes to tell you about at half time.
    • 46' Here we go again! Back underway at Old Trafford!
    • 45'+2 There goes the half-time whistle! United head in a goal to the good and a man up! It's all going their way! And Mascharano needs to have a long hard look at himself - has he been locked away in a cave all week long? Surely this was not the right time to come out with something like that.
    • 45' Oh dear... Mascherano storms off after the ref... he looks like he wants to kill him! And he has to be restrained by a number of his team-mates and Liverpool officials, including Benitez, before he skulks off!
    • 44' Look at this! Mascherano sprints across the pitch to remonstrate with the ref for Torres's booking... he needs to be careful here - he's already on a yellow... HE'S OFF! Referee Steve Bennett has enough and brandishes a second yellow! Liverpool down to ten men!
    • 43' Super stuff from Torres! The Spaniard wriggles free of a few challenges before the referee's whistle sounds... free kick to Liverpool... Torres gives the ref a mouthful nonetheless and gets a yellow for his troubles!
    • 41' Oh dear! Reina throws it straight to Anderson in the centre of the park! Terrible error! But the Brazilian loses his cool and blasts over! What is going on with Reina today? He's having a nightmare.
    • 40' It clips the top of a Liverpool head in the wall... it loops up towards Rooney, but his header is easily taken by Reina...
    • 39' Mascherano again gives away a free kick... and this is Ronaldo territory... ish...
    • 36' United have got the wind in their sails now... and with Reina in such unsure form today, they should fancy their chances of getting another goal.
    • 35' That's only Brown's second ever league goal... and what a time to score it!
    • 34' GOAL! WES BROWN HEADS UNITED AHEAD! What is he doing up there?! Rooney swings in a lovely cross and Brown is there ahead of Reina - who's flapping again - to head home! 1-0 United and what an unlikely source!
    • 33' Reina's again in trouble here! He fumbles what looks like an easy cross and nearly diverts it into his own net! Only a last minute paw away spares his blushes...
    • 32' Reina slices another clearance straight out of play... that's the second time today...
    • 30' Half an hour gone, and it's still goalless at Old Trafford...
    • 29' Vidic rises to meet the corner, but it's scrambled clear by the Liverpool defence...
    • 28' Nothing comes of the corner at one end... and seconds later United win one at the other!
    • 27' Gerrard! Oooh! His strike from outside the box deflects off Vidic and flies over Van der Sar's cross bar for a corner!
    • 24' Oooh! Giggs swings in a free kick, Vidic flicks on and Ronaldo turns the ball goalwards at the far post! Off the outside of the woodwork! The flag's up anyway, so it wouldn't have counted, although quite what for is still a mystery.
    • 23' Scholes now shapes to shoot! But he instead plays a clever ball looking for Anderson.... it doesn't come off this time, but United are definitely in the ascendency now!
    • 22' Reina races off his line to intercept a long United ball forward... Rooney is lurking, but Reina takes it well on his chest before clearing to safety!
    • 20' Ronaldo swaps wings for the first time today... he jinks inside, but just as Old Trafford holds its breath, Carragher slides in to block his shock.
    • 17' It's all a bit scrappy at the moment... to be expected really, given the two sides' recent meetings with each other.
    • 15' Anderson seems to have a problem with Gerrard here... not sure why, but he stands over the prone England man, unleashing a verbal volley. The ref gets involved, and Anderson suddenly becomes all sweetness and light.
    • 14' Alonso trips Ronaldo as the Portuguese tries to jink his way through... the ref waves play on, much to Ronaldo's annoyance.
    • 13' Oooh! Aurelio lashes an effort across the face of goal after having been found with a cute Gerrard pass that caught Ronaldo napping somewhat.
    • 12' Carrick dinks a ball through to Evra now... but the linesman's flag goes up for offside...
    • 11' Mascherano looks like he's going to get a yellow here... he does, for a lunge on Scholes...
    • 9' Lovely ball through to Rooney again! This time it's Scholes who finds him, but his control lets him down, and Reina claims the ball! Another decent chance gone begging...
    • 7' There was a hint of a foul from Carragher on Rooney there... if Roon had gone down, surely the ref would have blown up... credit to him for staying on his feet, but United fans will be wishing he hit the deck!
    • 6' Rooney's through here! Anderson plays a lovely ball through past Carragher and into the United striker's path! He stays on his feet, despite a challenge from Carragher, but he's off-balance when he shoots, and Reina is able to make the save!
    • 5' United can't seem to get the ball out of their own half at the moment... Liverpool have started confidently.
    • 4' Well played Dirk Kuyt! He clashes with Anderson but comes off the better...
    • 3' Liverpool enjoying the early possession... Giggs loses the ball to Alonso out on the Liverpool right... he puts in a cross, but the ref blows for a foul on Brown...
    • 2' Cracking atmosphere inside the ground, as expected when these two sides meet each other. Old Trafford may get criticised for attracting too many daytrippers, but you can guarantee an electric atmosphere for the visit of Liverpool!
    • 1' Here we go! Bright sunshine at Old Trafford today as Liverpool get things underway!
    • - Here come the teams! United led by Ryan Giggs and Liverpool by Steve Gerrard...
    • - Just a bit of the Stone Roses playing over the tannoy at Old Trafford before the teams come out... this is the one!
    • - Liverpool are unchanged from their win over Reading, with Fernando Torres supported by Steven Gerrard up front.
    • - So, Rio Ferdinand makes it for United, but there's no place in the starting line up for Owen Hargreaves. Ryan Giggs is recalled to captain the side and Edwin Van der Sar comes back in after injury. Wayne Rooney spearheads the attack on his own.
    • - And today's referee is Steve Bennett (Kent) - poor bloke.
    • - Liverpool line up like this: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio, Mascherano, Alonso, Kuyt, Gerrard, Babel, Torres - Subs: Itandje, Hyypia, Riise, Benayoun, Crouch
    • - The teams are in... United boss Alex Ferguson shuffles his pack and makes eight changes from the Bolton game - Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Scholes, Carrick, Anderson, Giggs, Rooney - Subs: Kuszczak, Hargreaves, Nani, O'Shea, Tevez
    • - Hello and welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's LIVE coverage of today's big game at Old Trafford!

  • Team Stats

    Manchester United Stats Liverpool
    65% Possession 34%
    24 Shots 8
    10 Shots on target 1
    0 Saves 6
    2 Corners 4
    12 Fouls 11
    4 Offsides 0
    1 Yellow cards 2
    0 Red cards 1
    21 Tackles 43
    518 Accurate passes 222
    102 Bad passes 47

  • Player Stats

    G =
    Goals
    S =
    Shots
    SoT =
    Shot on Target
    F =
    Fouls
    FW =
    Fouls Won
    O =
    Offsides
    A =
    Assists
    AP =
    Accurate Passes
    BP =
    Bad Passes
    T =
    Tackles
    • Manchester United
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Edwin Van der Sar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 4 0
      5 Rio Ferdinand 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 48 2 2
      3 Patrice Evra 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 28 17 5
      6 Wes Brown 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 30 0 3
      15 Nemanja Vidic 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 54 11 3
      8 Anderson Oliveira 0 4 1 1 1 0 0 29 7 1
      16 Michael Carrick 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 89 18 5
      18 Paul Scholes 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 98 16 0
      7 Cristiano Ronaldo 1 9 3 1 5 0 0 40 7 0
      11 Ryan Giggs 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 12 7 1
      10 Wayne Rooney 0 5 3 1 0 1 1 49 11 1
      22 John O'Shea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      17 Luís Almeida da Cunha 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 12 2 0
      4 Owen Hargreaves 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      32 Carlos Tevez 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 11 0 0
      29 Tomasz Kuszczak 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    • Liverpool
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      25 Jose Reina 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 6 0
      23 Jamie Carragher 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 3 2
      12 Fabio Aurelio 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 18 9 7
      17 Alvaro Arbeloa 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 20 0 5
      37 Martin Skrtel 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 20 4 0
      8 Steven Gerrard 0 4 1 0 2 0 0 28 9 4
      20 Javier Mascherano 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 14 2 3
      14 Xabi Alonso 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 32 5 11
      19 Ryan Babel 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 11 5 3
      9 Fernando Torres 0 1 0 3 4 0 0 13 1 3
      18 Dirk Kuyt 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 2 4
      11 Yossi Benayoun 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 1 1
      6 John Arne Riise 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      4 Sami Hyypia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      30 Charles Itandje 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      15 Peter Crouch 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

  • Summary

    • 81' GOAL! IT'S ANOTHER! NANI MAKES IT THREE! The Portuguese runs onto a cute Rooney through ball before cutting inside and hammering a right footed drive back across the face of Reina and into the back of the net!
    • 79' GOAL! THERE IT IS! RONALDO HEADS HOME HIS 34TH OF THE SEASON TO SURELY SEAL ALL THREE POINTS!
    • 78' Ronaldo! Must be! No! Reina deflects his shot onto the bar! Corner to United!
    • 74' Chance for Tevez with his first touch! Great save from Reina! And Nani can't get on the rebound!
    • 56' Rooney! Oooh! This time he brings down a long ball perfectly, but again Reina gets in the way to make the save! Anderson on the rebound! Oooh... over the bar!
    • 47' Ooh! Great chance to make it two immediately after the restart! Scholes dinks the ball through for Ronaldo, but Reina is quick off his line to make the save!
    • 44' Look at this! Mascherano sprints across the pitch to remonstrate with the ref for Torres's booking... he needs to be careful here - he's already on a yellow... HE'S OFF! Referee Steve Bennett has enough and brandishes a second yellow! Liverpool down to ten men!
    • 41' Oh dear! Reina throws it straight to Anderson in the centre of the park! Terrible error! But the Brazilian loses his cool and blasts over! What is going on with Reina today? He's having a nightmare.
    • 34' GOAL! WES BROWN HEADS UNITED AHEAD! What is he doing up there?! Rooney swings in a lovely cross and Brown is there ahead of Reina - who's flapping again - to head home! 1-0 United and what an unlikely source!
    • 33' Reina's again in trouble here! He fumbles what looks like an easy cross and nearly diverts it into his own net! Only a last minute paw away spares his blushes...
    • 27' Gerrard! Oooh! His strike from outside the box deflects off Vidic and flies over Van der Sar's cross bar for a corner!
    • 24' Oooh! Giggs swings in a free kick, Vidic flicks on and Ronaldo turns the ball goalwards at the far post! Off the outside of the woodwork! The flag's up anyway, so it wouldn't have counted, although quite what for is still a mystery.
    • 13' Oooh! Aurelio lashes an effort across the face of goal after having been found with a cute Gerrard pass that caught Ronaldo napping somewhat.
    • 9' Lovely ball through to Rooney again! This time it's Scholes who finds him, but his control lets him down, and Reina claims the ball! Another decent chance gone begging...
    • 6' Rooney's through here! Anderson plays a lovely ball through past Carragher and into the United striker's path! He stays on his feet, despite a challenge from Carragher, but he's off-balance when he shoots, and Reina is able to make the save!

Live Team Line-Up

  • Manchester United

    Manager: Alex Ferguson

    Captain: Ryan Giggs

    On the Field

    • van der Sar
    • Brown Goal
    • Ferdinand Yellow Card
    • Vidic
    • Evra
    • Carrick
    • Scholes
    • Anderson Substitution Out (73′)
    • Ronaldo Goal
    • Giggs Substitution Out (73′)
    • Rooney

    Subs

    • Hargreaves
    • O'Shea
    • Kuszczak
    • Tevez Substitution In (73′)
    • Nani Substitution In (73′) Goal

    Injured

    • Neville
    • Silvestre

    Suspended

    None

  • Liverpool

    Manager: Rafa Benitez

    Captain: Steven Gerrard

    On the Field

    • Reina
    • Arbeloa Yellow Card
    • Carragher
    • Skrtel
    • Aurelio
    • Kuijt
    • Alonso
    • Mascherano Red Card
    • Babel Substitution Out (66′)
    • Gerrard
    • Torres Yellow Card Substitution Out (83′)

    Subs

    • Riise Substitution In (83′)
    • Hyypia
    • Crouch
    • Benayoun Substitution In (66′)
    • Itandje

    Injured

    • Finnan
    • Agger

    Suspended

    None