Two-footed Gerrard helps sure-footed United
But there were signs in the controversial reverse at Old Trafford that Liverpool already look a different proposition with the Anfield legend at the helm.
A disputed penalty, awarded with 29 seconds on the clock, and the first half sending off of captain Steven Gerrard were the pivotal moments that condemned Liverpool to a third round FA Cup exit for the second consecutive season.
However, for those Liverpudlians clutching at straws — and that is what life has come to at Anfield at present — there was a positive response from their players which suggests that the perceived wisdom that Hodgson had “lost the dressing room” at the club may not have been a long way wide of the mark.
Still, when luck is against you, it is definitely against you; as Liverpool discovered when referee Howard Webb made the two key decisions that helped decide a tempestuous third round tie — one, correct; one not.
Unfortunately for Dalglish, serenaded by 9,000 travelling fans as he took his place in a dug-out for the first time in 11 years before kick-off, the decision Webb got wrong was the first minute penalty, awarded after the slightest of contact from Daniel Agger on Dimitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian forward managed to advance a step or two before going down and Webb, in turn, took his time in pointing to the spot, a decision that replays proved to be harsh in the extreme.
Ryan Giggs, no stranger to the big Old Trafford occasion, had all the necessary composure to beat Pepe Reina with a magnificent spot kick, even though the Liverpool goalkeeper guessed correctly in diving.
“Of course it was a penalty,” protested Berbatov after the tie. “There was contact, enough to make me lose my balance and fall. People who know me know I never go to ground that easy. I think it was a fair decision.”
Which, naturally, he would. But United never progressed from that early gift, indeed their stand-in goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak was required to make a couple of stops, from long-range shots by Maxi Rodriguez and Gerrard, before Webb made another impact upon the game.
Gerrard certainly went in with both feet off the ground as he challenged Michael Carrick just after the half-hour and there seemed little doubt, despite Liverpool protests, that a red card was the correct option for Webb to take.
Even the ever-diplomatic Giggs opted not to sit on the fence when quizzed about the sending off. “I couldn’t see it but the players’ reaction says a lot. The players around the ball weren’t too happy. You just have to get on with those decisions.”
Which, to Liverpool’s credit, they did, showing far more backbone and desire than had been the case for much of the Hodgson era. Not until the third minute of first half injury-time did United really threaten, when Jonny Evans met a Giggs corner with a header which thundered against the Liverpool post.
The second half proved a different story, however, as United finally made the most of employing the fairly obvious tactic of using width to stretch Liverpool’s depleted ranks.
Javier Hernandez glanced a header just wide, Fabio Aurelio almost headed into his own goal from a Hernandez cross and Berbatov, ever the opportunist, managed to find two shots for himself; one flying over, the other well saved by Reina.
Yet Dalglish showed that more than a decade out of the game has not dulled his tactical nous. The introduction of Ryan Babel and Jonjo Shelvey as substitutes on the hour momentarily shifted the flow of the game and might have brought Liverpool an equaliser.
Within seconds, Babel had Kuszczak scurrying to ground to save a crisp 22-yard shot before the Polish keeper was forced to leap high towards his top corner to keep out a Aurelio free-kick from just outside the area.
Perhaps inevitably, United returned to take control of the game, having survived that last throw of the dice from the visitors. Reina and his defence made a series of committed blocks, in quick succession, as United launched a concerted 68th minute attack with the visiting keeper eventually producing a fine save to tip over a Patrice Evra shot that concluded that passage of play.
In the closing minutes, Berbatov should have put the tie beyond all reasonable doubt but headed over at the far-post from an Evra cross, a miss which summed up the pattern of the afternoon. “I think we should have won more easily,” said the Bulgarian. “But Liverpool put in a good performance. Their best player was their goalkeeper who saved a lot of chances. Overall, we deserved to win and one goal was enough.”
