Charity Shield: Pool take two-goal half-time lead

Liverpool 2, Man Utd 0 (half-time)

Treble winners Liverpool could be adding more silverware to their cabinet as they take a two-goal half-time lead against league champions Manchester United in the Charity Shield.

The game got off to a sensational start with a Liverpool penalty after just 45 seconds.

Gary McAllister released Michael Owen down the left and the England striker slipped past Denis Irwin far too easily and layed the ball square into the box for Danny Murphy.

The Liverpool midfielder cut back across Roy Keane, and was tripped a yard inside the box. McAllister calmly placed the ball into Fabien Barthez’s bottom left-hand corner.

There could have been more problems for United two minutes later when Mikael Silvestre sent Owen flying on the edge of the box, but this time McAllister’s free-kick sailed to safety.

The irony of the opening incidents, and United’s complaints about a supposed foul on Ruud van Nistelrooy in the box that went unpunished, was that the referee was Andy D’Urso, who had been the official hounded by United stars Keane in particular two seasons ago at Old Trafford for the Middlesbrough game.

John Arne Riise was next to worry United down their right, beating David Beckham and Irwin before firing in a cross that Nicky Butt cleared for a corner.

But United did not take too long to find their feet and a fine ball in from Silvestre was met by the surging Beckham, coming in unattended on the right, whose header looped over fit-again Sander Westerveld onto the roof of the net.

But after 16 minutes Liverpool made it 2-0, with that man Owen grabbing another fine goal.

Westerveld’s long clearance troubled United’s defence and when Jaap Stam slipped over, Owen took the ball past Gary Neville and coolly slotted it past Barthez.

Owen’s liking for this stadium is clear, after his two goals that won the FA Cup Final.

And the young England man, with Sven-Goran Eriksson in the stands, just underlined his rich vein of form having got a hat-trick in midweek to all but secure Liverpool’s spot in the Champions League group stages.