Ryan Babel handed Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez his first-ever Premier League victory over Manchester United.
Liverpool triumph against bitter rivals United
Ryan Babel came off the bench to hand Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez his first-ever Premier League victory over Manchester United.
The Dutch winger fired home in front of the Kop 13 minutes from time after Ryan Giggs and Nemanja Vidic's defensive dallying allowed Javier Mascherano and Dirk Kuyt to cut the ball back from the byline.
United had made the perfect start as Dimitar Berbatov made an immediate impact on his debut, holding off Jamie Carragher and finding Carlos Tevez with an astute pass to rifle a shot into the back of the net with just three minutes on the clock.
But the home side were back on terms before the break thanks to a comical defensive blunder from the Premier League champions.
Xabi Alonso's speculative shot struck Patrice Evra, before Edwin van der Sar raced from his goal but only succeeded in pushing the ball against Wes Brown's knee before it rolled into the back of an unguarded net.
And Babel's late intervention ensured Benitez finally collected a deserved three points against United after seven defeats and one draw from their previous eight meetings.
United were reduced to 10 men in the closing seconds as Vidic, who had already been booked for bringing down Robbie Keane, jumped into Alonso.
Berbatov bow
Liverpool gave new signing Albert Riera his debut but Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres were not risked any closer to the initial action than the bench.
For the champions, Michael Carrick returned after an ankle problem, but all eyes were on £30million striker Berbatov on his first appearance for his new club.
And the Bulgaria international helped the champions take an early lead as he was allowed to get to the line by some sloppy marking and covering, and Liverpool's defence was nowhere to be seen when his pulled back cross was lashed home by Tevez.
United were quicker and more mobile all over the pitch while Liverpool continually conceded possession. But the Merseysiders should have scored after 13 minutes when Van der Sar fumbled a corner and Kuyt's blast from three yards was stopped by the United keeper.
Liverpool at last started to get into the match as Tevez was booked for a foul on Alvaro Arbeloa and a succession of free-kicks pinned United back.
And they were level after 26 minutes. Xabi Alonso's curling, low shot into the area deflected off Evra and Van der Sar hurled himself forward.
But he only managed to push the ball on to Brown, who could do nothing about it cannoning off him and over the line. Riera followed the ball in, but it was the United man's last touch.
United sent on Giggs for Carrick at the break, the midfielder having taken a heavy blow on his ankle in the first half.
Sharper
Liverpool started the second period in much sharper form, Yossi Benayoun almost saw a flicked effort evade Van der Sar and Alonso fired over from 20 yards.
Keane narrowly missed breaking his scoring duck when he failed by inches to connect with a Mascherano cross-shot. United's reply came from Paul Scholes who drove wide.
United sent on Owen Hargreaves for Scholes after 66 minutes, having been forced back for much of the second spell and two minutes later Liverpool introduced Gerrard in place of Benayoun as United started to come back into the game.
As if to underline the point, Jose Reina was forced into a fine save from a dipping Giggs volley.
Riera was taken off after 71 minutes and replaced by Babel having made a good impression after a shaky start.
And on 77 minutes, Liverpool's pressure paid off. Mascherano battled his way down the right and to the line, Kuyt took up possession and played the ball across for Babel to crack home.
Nani came on for Anderson, and Vidic was booked for bringing down Keane as the Irishman looked to be bursting through on goal. Nani was next into the book for bringing down Mascherano.
Liverpool were going to replace Keane with David Ngog, but changed their minds at the last moment when it was clear Mascherano had injured his ankle. The Argentinian limped off and Sami Hyypia came on instead.
Vidic was then sent off for crashing his arm into Alonso's face after 89 minutes, a second yellow card swiftly followed by a red. He will now miss the visit to Chelsea on 21st September.
| Liverpool |
Team Statistics |
Manchester United |
| 2 |
Goals |
1 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 7 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 8 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
| 7 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 5 |
Corners |
4 |
| 10 |
Fouls |
18 |
| 1 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
1 |
| 76 |
Passing Success |
69.6 |
| 25 |
Tackles |
18 |
| 80 |
Tackles Success |
77.8 |
| 53.9 |
Possession |
46.1 |
| 51.3 |
Territorial Advantage |
48.7 |
|
