6 months later, 6 march 2011 ... 2 days after the king's 60th birthday, kuyt replicates berba's show. a hattrick and liverpool came out winners 3 - 1 at anfield.
liverpool, after kenny's comeback have been doing reasonably well despite a lost to west ham last weekend. after losing 3-2 on the first round and 1-0 during the fa cup tie (both at old trafford), they wanted to win this one, at home in front of their own fans at anfield.
both liverpool and man utd have their own problems prior to the game. united are without ferdinand and vidic to looks vulnerable. liverpool are still without agger and martin kelly. there were news prior to the game that gerrard might be out due to a groin injury.
since kenny's return to anfield the team has been different. the players are more confident now. so there was no big worry who's going to play since the fans believed that kenny knows what to do.
dirk kuyt scored hattrick but it was the 'new' boy suarez who actually took 'center stage'. he destroyed man utd single handed with his industrious display.
our new number 7 ... suarez dazzled the united defenders inside the box and he crossed the ball before kuyt touched home from close range. kuyt's second came in moments later when nani, surprisingly assisted by heading the ball to him. it was resulted from a cross sent in by suarez. kuyt completed his hattrick after following up from a suarez free kick after van der sar failed to clear the ball properly.
it was liverpool all the way. they were off the bricks from the first minute. the commitment, passion and attitude of the players made it more easier for them. united didn't looked as though they can really threat liverpool that day. sure it was a sweet birthday gift for the 'king'.
for many seasons now liverpool is always about individuals. mainly around gerrard and torres. questions were frequently asked, if gerrard or torres is not playing who will 'lead' the team. it's not the case now since kenny took over. torres has been sold and with or without gerrard the team seemed to play with more confidence. on a brighter note, this is good because it will lift a huge sense of responsibility off stevie g's shoulder. he has not had a good season so far. and now he can concentrate to get back to his very best towards the end of the season.
as kenny always stressed out, no player is bigger than the club. it seems to work because everyone in the team feels they are important. they work hard for each other. there's always gonna be 1 or more players with special abilities but they will have to keep their feet firmly on the ground.
another talking point for this game was carragher's tackle towards nani. from the replays yes carragher should have been given a red card from the referee. but knowing carragher for who he is, honest, hard working player the referee didn't think he had any intention to hurt nani. it happened so fas and maybe the ref just missed carragher's high feet caught nani's shin.
finnaly the 35m pound signing was unleashed by the manager. andy carroll made his debut and he got a very warm reception from the fans. hope he will make a good partnership with luis suarez. a very bright future for the reds. YNWA !
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