Dudek drops ’Pool in it

Liverpool 1

Liverpool’s hopes of taking the fight to leaders Arsenal were pole-axed by the Poland international goalkeeper, whose first-team place could now be at risk.

Dudek had been given the public backing of his manager after a string of errors in recent games but Houllier now concedes England U-21 international Chris Kirkland could take over.

He said: ‘‘We will see after Wednesday’s Worthington Cup game with Ipswich. When two teams are so evenly matched, the first goal is always important. It gives confidence to the team and effects the other side.

‘‘Until Jerzy’s mistake it was even. But you can’t legislate for mistakes like that. It effected the whole team and Jerzy himself, he then conceded a second that he may well not have done in other circumstances.

‘‘Jerzy was very upset, for himself and for the team. But I’m pleased with the response of the rest of the lads, there was no finger-pointing and complaining. And don’t forget that he has won plenty of games for us. We missed our chances too, nobody moans at strikers for that, but when a goalkeeper makes a mistake it seems to be different.’’

Liverpool have now taken just one point from their last 12 and run the risk of slipping into United’s clutches. Houllier added: ‘‘I suppose we gave them too much respect, and that was maybe because we are going through a difficult period. We lacked fluency and should have been more audacious.

‘‘But don’t forget that Arsenal have had a bad run too. It’s our turn now. That is what makes the blunder so disappointing. We felt after winning in Europe this week that we were on the way up again.’’

Man Utd boss Ferguson felt Forlan’s brace was just reward for his perseverance this season, despite criticism of his poor goal scoring record since arriving at Old Trafford last season.

Ferguson said: ‘‘I think we said all last week that the breaks are starting to come our way.

‘‘We showed great temperament and a good team spirit. Diego’s been a bit of a hero because the fans recognise that he doesn’t give in. He’s shown that in all the games he’s played and the perseverance has paid off in a big way because the fans will never forget him now for this.

‘‘It was important for us to get consistency. Even at West Ham we were a bit unlucky. There’s a great urgency about our game and great commitment, we saw it in Basle on Tuesday and today against the best team in the country.’’

Kirkland will play on Wednesday in the Worthington Cup, and a solid display could see Dudek consigned to the sidelines for some while after his latest error, which left him with his heads in his hands and left Forlan with a simple tap in to a gaping goal.

Forlan’s status as a cult hero around Old Trafford is assured for ever after his double strike gave the United their first win over their bitter rivals in three years.

The Uruguayan started this season with the unhappy label of being United manager Alex Ferguson's worst ever buy.

Surprisingly however, the notoriously fickle Old Trafford crowd never turned against him and this season they have taken him to their heart.

Despite the dramatic finale, it was a game of few chances, with both clubs fielding teams designed to stifle their opponents’ danger men.

Liverpool delegated Steven Gerrard to keep tabs on Ryan Giggs while United, wise to the threat of Michael Owen’s pace, retained the equally quick Mikael Silvestre in the centre of defence.

The result was stalemate until Dudek’s extraordinary error threw the doors open.

Liverpool’s Czech striker Milan Baros had set the tone for the first half when he drew a good save from Barthez with a 20-yard drive in just the second minute.

But for all their domination in terms of possession and territorial domination, Liverpool failed to carve out any clear cut chances and it was the visitors who always looked the more potent on the break.

Meanwhile reports suggest that United are preparing to lure Portuguese starlet Ricardo Quaresma to Old Trafford in the New Year.

The 19-year-old Sporting Lisbon winger has been billed as the “new Luis Figo”. And United manager Alex Ferguson is reportedly willing to pay as much as £10m to sign him when the transfer window reopens in January.

Talks are believed to be under way between the two parties through agent Pini Zahavi, who brokered Rio Ferdinand's £30m switch to Manchester during the summer.

Quaresma, who just missed out on making Portugal’s World Cup squad, is a versatile midfielder who can be played on the right or through the centre of midfield.

LIVERPOOL: Dudek, Carragher, Henchoz, Hyypia, Traore (Riise 78), Murphy, Gerrard, Hamann, Smicer (Diouf 70), Baros (Heskey 59), Owen.

MAN UTD: Barthez, O’Shea, Brown, Gary Neville, Silvestre, Solskjaer, Scholes, Fortune (Phil Neville 81), Giggs, Forlan (Stewart 90), cvan Nistelrooy (May 90).

Referee: A Wiley (Staffordshire).