whatthehellulookinatjustcomein's blog: "liverpool fc"

STUNNING LIVERPOOL RUN RIOT The Telegraph 14 March 2009 Needing to beat the leaders to stay in the title hunt, Liverpool dismantled Sir Alex Ferguson's side, coming back from a goal down to win in style. They now trail the leaders by just four points and even though United have a game in hand, the pressure is on. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a first-half penalty to put United in front but Liverpool equalised through Fernando Torres before Steven Gerrard put them in front with a penalty of his own. The Liverpool captain celebrated jubilantly in front of the away fans. "It's great to score at Old Trafford after all the stick I've taken from United fans over the years," Gerrard said. "It was nice to rub it in." Nemanja Vidic, who had a miserable afternoon, was sent off for pulling Gerrard down when through on goal. Fabio Aurelio made it 3-1 from the ensuing free-kick to make sure of a Liverpool victory, while United's misery was compounded by the knowledge that Vidic's red card, his second against Liverpool this season, means the centre-back will be suspended for their next two games. Andrea Dossena, on as a substitute, finished the rout by lobbing Edwin van der Sar in the closing moments. Rafael Benitez lauded the contribution of Torres and Gerrard. "These two are our key players and when they are on the pitch the others have more confidence because they know they will score goals," he said. "The understanding between them both is better. When you don't have one of them it's a big loss." All sorts of records went tumbling. United hadn't been beaten in the League since losing at Arsenal on Nov 8 and hadn't lost at Old Trafford in the League in more than a year. Most brutally, this was the heaviest defeat they have suffered in the League since losing to Queens Park Rangers on New Year's Day 1992. "It will give us confidence but I hope it also gives confidence to teams who come here, and shows that they [United] can be beaten," Gerrard said. "They went down to 10 men but even at 11 v 11 we controlled the game." Benitez was characteristically sober. "The best weeks are when you win titles not games," he said. "We won this battle but we need to win the war. Obviously we are in a better position now and in football everything can happen. I'm more optimistic but I'm also realistic." Ferguson seemed to be evading reality by claiming his team had been the better side. "It's hard to take," he said. "I thought we were the better team but the score doesn't reflect that and unfortunately that's the name of the game. Quite rightly when you win 4-1 at Old Trafford you deserve all the plaudits." Liverpool have done the League double over United now and will look forward to taking them on in the Champions League, if Friday's draw pits them together. On this form, having crushed Real Madrid 4-0 in midweek, Liverpool must be favourites to claim the Champions League.