Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Hyppia, Carragher, Riise, Benayoun, Gerrard, Macherano, Kewell, Torres and Kuyt
Manchester United: Van Der Saar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Hargreaves, Anderson, Giggs, Rooney and Tevez.
Good opening to the match with both teams trying to strike the 1st blow in the early stages.
1st shot at goal from Torres as he tried to curl his shot round Ferdinand but he got it wrong in the 12th minute.
Chance for United as Giggs controlled the ball beautifully in the left, waited for Evra, who put in a good cross but Carragher got to the ball before Rooney in the 13th minute.
Bad miss by Liverpool as 1st Harry Kewell saw his shot blocked on the line by Anderson and the ball came up to Torres and he missed his header from about 2 yards out in the 27th minute.
Great run by Anderson but he was stopped by a terrific tackle by Gerrard in the 29th minute of play.
Another mistake by Van Der Saar as he came out to no man's land but was fortunate that Kuyt could not get to the ball before Evra in the 30th minute.
Another chance for Torres as Gerrard's free kick was charged down and came to him but his attempt was neither a shot at goal nor a pass to a team mate in the 36th minute.
Goal for United from a cleverly worked free kick as Giggs found Rooney and his shot was tapped home by an unmarked Tevez in the 43rd minute.
Half Time
Liverpool 0 United 1
Liverpool have huffed and puffed without creating too many clear cut chances and too many of their players have been indecisive in the final 3rd of the field.
Harry Kewell, Dirk Kuyt and Benayoun have not done a lot and Gerrard's best moments have been defensive rather than offensive.
United have not done a lot in the game as players like Ronaldo, Giggs, Rooney and Tevez have been quiet with Anderson. Evra and Brown have been the most prominent players on the ball.
Early chance for Torres found by a cute back-heel by Kuyt but after beating Evra, he tried to beat him again and the momentum was lost in the 45th minute.
Chance for United but it fell to the wrong person in Wes Brown as his volley was no trouble to Reina in the 48th minute.
Good play by Liverpool as Kewell played a very good ball to Gerrard but it was perhaps too much for him to control his volley and it went wide in the 55th minute.
Ryan Babel is on for Harry Kewell in the 65th minute.
Chance for Liverpool but Riise cross was not good enough and neither was Kuyt's effort in the 69th minute.
Peter Crouch is on for Dirk Kuyt in the 72nd minute.
Good shot by Babel as he pounced on a loose header but it was just inches wide of the post in the 75th minute.
What a miss by Rooney after brilliant work by Ronaldo as he skipped past Hyppia superbly and crossed for Rooney but he incredibly put the ball wide with only Reina to beat in the 78th minute.
Fabio Aurellio is on for Riise in the 79th minute.
Michael Carrick is on for Carlos Tevez in the 83rd minute.
Dangerous free kick given away by Vidic on Crouch in the 91st minute as Steven Gerrard is waiting to take it.
John O'Shea is on for Anderson in the 91st minute.
Gerrard's attempt with the free-kick is a waste in the 92nd minute.
Full Time
Liverpool 0 United 1
Manchester United win the game with a great defensive display rather than an attacking one as they provided a great barrier between the midfield and the defence with Evra, Ferdinand, Anderson, Hargreaves, Brown and Vidic all playing well.
The likes of Ronaldo, Giggs, Rooney and Tevez all played their part but it was not a day for attacking prowess for the visitors and their talents were not called into play as often as they normally are.
Liverpool were just disappointing throughout with a distinct lack of creativity and Torres was a non-factor in the 2nd half as he was well marshaled by Vidic and Ferdinand as well as his hiding on he pitch in the 2nd half.
The introduction of Crouch just made things worse for Liverpool as they kept playing everything in the air hoping that Crouch would win the aerial battles.
The likes of Riise, Kewell, Benayoun and Kuyt were all very poor especially Riise, who saw a lot of the ball but his crosses were awful.
Owen Hargreaves just shades the Man of the match from Patrick Evra, Anderson and Rio Ferdinand.
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