EPL Talk » Classic Match

What Makes A Classic Football Match? Part 4: Manchester United 1-4 Liverpool

Ethan Armstrong — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:58:34 +0000

4.) Manchester United 1-4 Liverpool – 14 March 2009

Even after the mind-shattering come-from-behind win on 13 September (see Part 3), I couldn’t let myself feel too optimistic about the trip to Old Trafford. (Going into the biggest matches, I try to remain spiritually pragmatic.) 1-1 at O.T. would be a wonderful result. Another 2-1 Liverpool win would be legendary. Even if we were up 2-1 and United found one of their last-gasp injury-time scorchers (not that Liverpool hadn’t had their fair share of late miracles last season) and the match ended 2-2, I promised myself I ‘d be content with that result. Yes—if Liverpool could score two at O.T. (hey, Stevie G and El Nino were back… why not?) a draw would still make me happy enough.

But then, Park’s run spilled into the left side of the box. Pepe misjudged the danger and rushed out to contain the Korean international. Park tumbled. Pepe cursed himself. The ref gave the penalty.

I was fuming, convinced Park dived. (And this is why I should never be professionally commenting live if Liverpool are involved. Every call against Liverpool would be outrageous. Even if Steven Gerrard slammed his studs into a defender’s head while offsides, while diving, while giving the ref the v-sign, while bragging he’d slept with the ref’s wife, while taking his shirt off to celebrate… when he got sent off, I would still shake my fists and scream: “HEY! THAT’S NEVER A BOOKING!!! So… I don’t always see clearly in the nucleus of the moment. Thank God for replays. I’m often forced to concede: “Oh, okay. Right call. Sorry. Carry on.”)

So Park was fouled. And of course Ronaldo stepped to the spot. And of course he converted. And of course my heart sunk to the heels of my Adidas.

We were down a goal again. (At least it was 23 min in rather than 3 min in—or maybe that’s worse—there’s less time to recover.) Only this time it was at Old Trafford. It felt like being three down.

Oh well, I thought. We already beat them once this season. That’s progress in the Rafa era.

But five minutes later, it’s Vidic letting the ball bounce (his first mistake of the day). Then it’s Torres bringing his foot around Vidic’s midriff, slapping the ball into space. Then it’s Vidic losing his balance—tumbling. Torres peels after the ball—he’s one-on-one with Edwin van der Startled—Torres waits for his moment—he waits—he moves—he strikes—the shot careens toward the far post—the bounce—and—it’s—IN!!!!

Then, as half-time nears, it’s Stevie rounding Evra. Evra doesn’t see him until Stevie’s pulling ahead. Stevie gets a touch on the ball just as Evra goes to ground. Evra’s leg sweeps Stevie’s feet. The whistle blows. Evra—like Reina, a consumate professional— can’t believe he’s made such a mistake under pressure.

Stevie steps to the spot and blasts it to the right. And we’re up a goal… The moment hangs in my mind like Gerrard’s saliva clinging to the television screen (he’d kissed the corner flag camera to celebrate).

The scoreline could have remained 1-2. I would have been ecstatic. But in the 75th minute, Lucas finds Kuyt with a long ball. Kuyt tries to put it through for Gerrard. It ricochets off Vidic but Stevie gets ahold of it anyway. He’s a touch, a turn from being one-on-one with van der Sar. Vidic knows it. He grabs Gerrard by the crotch and pulls him down. Twist and cough, mate. The ref is not happy with the impromtu cup-check and Vidic gets the red card.

Fabio Aurelio kicks the ball over the wall and in. Liverpool are up by two.

Now, I’m about to go against my own criteria a little. I’ve said a classic should be a close match. Ideally with a late winner. So a 1-4 scoreline poses some problems compared with the 2-3s and the 2-1 I’ve already discussed in this cycle of articles.

But a two goal cushion (Liverpool wouldn’t score the fourth until injury time) doesn’t feel like much of a gap against United at Old Trafford. Even if they are down to ten men. They are still United. They still had Ronaldo. A man who can create a chance out of nothing in no time at all. So the minutes after Aurelio’s goal felt as tense as any 2-2 match I’ve seen. One goal at any time and they are back in it. At least to fight for a point.

Then, ten seconds into stoppage time, Pepe Reina’s long kick finds substitute Andres Dossena who lets it bounce once before hitting a side-foot-volley-lob over van der Sar’s head and in. We did it!!!! (And I’d like to add: I love seeing the substitute score. Dossena, Babel and Torres have all scored off the bench in these matches. Not a strict criterion for a classic, but definitely a worthwhile consideration.)

Emotionally, this was my favorite match of the season. The City game was more of a well rounded classic. The United match at Anfield was a better performance and a more suspenseful outing. The visit to Portsmouth was simply as strange as it was satisfying. But scoring 4 goals at Old Trafford, coming from behind again and having such a variety of goals (the one-on-one, the penalty, the one-of-the-sexiest-free-kicks-I’ve-ever-seen, and the long service to half-volley-side-foot-lob-shot) and the opponents getting an ejection… I just can’t imagine more thrills.

So those are my biased nominations for Football Classic from 08/09. I’d love to hear what others think and what matches you’d pick. Let me know in the comment section.

What Makes A Classic Football Match? Part 3: Liverpool 2-1 Manchester United

Ethan Armstrong — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:34:23 +0000

In Parts 1 & 2 I nominated Manchester City 2-3 Liverpool and Portsmouth 2-3 Liverpool for Classic Match consideration. These nominees come from a supporter’s perspective. I invite others to say what they deem a potential classic from their own perspectives in the comment section. I’ll cover one more match tomorrow…

3.) Liverpool 2-1 Manchester United – 13 September 2008

Since moving to Boston, I began to develop a strange set of rituals when Liverpool played Manchester United. Trek down to the pub. Squeeze into the standing-room-only atmosphere. Make as much noise as possible. Be devastated by Tevez’s single goal or Bennett’s red for Mascherano. Sulk.

Was it more comforting that I was surrounded by Liverpool kits, by supporters who’d come out with as much hope as me? All of us wondering if this would be the day Rafa beat Fergie? Only to finish the morning (yes, morning) ordering a consolation pint when we’d hoped to drink to victory.

On the 13th of September last year, I tried to maintain the hope. But mostly I braced myself for the inevitable. Liverpool had been playing well. But there would be some O’Shea-like tap-in moment to derail the result. I smelled a 0-1. I went anyway. I did prefer to watch with others. Even when we lost. And, besides: if we won this and I was at home alone, I’d be in a year-long snit with myself for not going.

Packed in tight with fellow supporters: We shifted on our feet. We speculated. We sang. We nursed our 8am pints.

Torres and Gerrard were on the bench, still unfit to start, so it was hard to see anything different from previous season’s results. But I reminded myself: in football, one never knows.

That devastating moment came early when Berbatov found Tevez (who else) unmarked, charging into the box. Tevez fired it past Reina. Less than three minutes gone and we were already a goal down. At least O’Shea had left it until the 92nd minute.

Without Torres or Gerrard, it was hard to imagine us putting two goals past Edwin van der Sar. But I started praying for a draw. A point against United would be decent enough. Deny them the two extra points at least. Part of me buzzed saying, we can still win this. Plenty of time. But I decided to maintain my emotional reserve until we got the equalizer.

Then, nearing the 26 minute mark, Xabi gets the ball some 35-yards out. (Why do I love to slip into the present tense for moments like these?) He sends it in. A promising looking service, but who will be at the end of it? Wes Brown as it turns out. Finally that weird did-that-really-just-happen moment goes the other way for Liverpool: against United. Xabi’s ball takes a deflection. Van der Sar tries to push it out, but he pushes it out against Wes Brown’s knee. The ball bounces back into the empty goal. 1-1. The pub explodes. If an own-goal was to be the key to restoring our chances: we’d take it.

And anyway, after the early minutes, Liverpool seemed the better team. My hesitation to believe began to give way to timid hope. New guy Albert Riera was showing his potential. Dirk Kuyt made a promising shot from distance. Mascherano was beyond brilliant as if to say to United’s players: “See what I can do when I stay on the pitch?”

And if Masch’s first-half as-clean-as-it-gets strip off Wayne Rooney wasn’t mouthwatering enough, in the 76th minute, our defensive midfielder charged deep into attacking territory, doggedly weaving past defenders. Giggs tries to hold him up against the byline but Masch pushes the ball to Kuyt. Kuyt turns and finds Babel in a world of space. Babel arcs it home. 2-1!!!!!

If I hadn’t been in a pub packed thick with my fellow supporters I would have fallen on my back. Thankfully, I had a swarm of jumping, screaming bodies to keep me upright. Also, I’d learned to put my beer down whenever Liverpool neared goal, just in case I needed to flail my arms about in celebration. You only need to be soaked with your own lager once or twice to learn that invaluable leason.

The remaining minutes would be tense. But United could not find the equalizer. And Vidic even got a late second yellow for trying to put his elbow through Xabi. Bye-bye, Nemanja. (Have I mentioned how much I love opposition red cards?)

The City match may have be a more well-rounded nominee for classic classic status… two goals down… three goals back… red card… late winner…

But the 13 September match has a contextual edge. Until then, Liverpool had never beaten United under Rafael Benitez. To do it after being a goal down—to do it without Torres or Gerrard (Gerrard came on in the 68th but didn’t look himself or play much of a part)—to finally have that incomprehensible goal-scoring moment be at United’s expense rather than in their favor (the universe is a balanced place, John O’Shea)—this was beyond belief! I couldn’t imagine a better result against United….

Until the visit to Old Trafford…

Tomorrow… Part 4: Gerrard, Torres, Aurelio and Dossena (Yes, you heard me right: Dossena)…

What Makes A Classic Football Match? Part 2

Ethan Armstrong — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:08:04 +0000

Yesterday I covered the Perfect Drama Classic. Today, I’ll look at the You Were Right I Was Wrong Classic…

2.) Portsmouth v. Liverpool – 7 Feb 2009

I try to be the biggest proponent of Rafa Knows Best whenever I can. Though I am at times puzzled by some of his decisions and have my own staunch opinion on how things should be done (this is a requirement for being a football supporter—FIFA will fine me if I don’t question starting line-ups 15 times in all competitions). The old which one of us won the Champions League test ussually puts me in my place. Did I sub on Didi Hamann at half time in Istanbul? No. That was Rafa.

That being said, it was veeeery difficult to see what was going on in Rafa’s head on the 7th of February, 2009. He started Alvaro Arbeloa, Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger, Andres Dossena and Fabio Aurelio against Portsmouth. Six defenders? Six? The old 631? 622? What was going on here?

I was mildly assuaged when word came that Aurelio would play as a midfielder. I knew there really wouldn’t be six at the back. But I still didn’t see where this was going. With Xabi and Torres both unfit for starts, Gerrard hamstrung, and Lucas suspended (even the diminutive Argentine would have been a welcome sight at this point), I was struggling to picture what our shape would look like. This line-up seemed beyond makeshift. When it became clear Dossena and Arbeloa would be playing like wingbacks in a 3-5-2 formation, I started to think: hey, maybe this could work…

Who am I kidding? I was saturated with doubt.

The first goalless hour (hey, that’d be a great name for a bad football show on FSC…) justified my concerns, although Liverpool mostly dominated. One felt if the players could get settled in, this formation could have some merit. They just weren’t used to it yet.

Then, Peter Crouch found David Nugent unmarked and onside. Crouch slotted the perfect ball to Nugent who had more open space before him than Tiger Woods at tee time. Skrtel rushed to try to cut him off, but it was too late. Nugent took his shot and Pompey were up 1-0 on 61 minutes.

Then, in the 69th, there was a moment you don’t see often. Liverpool were awarded a free-kick within the box after Crouch sent a pass to David James who, under presssure, was forced to handle. The whistle blew for back-pass. Xabi (subbed on 3 minutes prior) rolled the ball and Fabio fired it inside the right-side post. It was gorgeous. And Crouchie’s still making assists for Liverpool!

On 77 minutes, Pompey got a free-kick and nobody was covering Hreidesson (have we learned nothing from Tim Cahill’s unmarked goals?) and he headed it in off Belhadj’s service.

Behind again with time winding down. Torres ended up in the danger zone with the ball. He cut it back to Kuyt. Kuyt took it past one defender. Then another. Then he fired it at about the tightest angle one can find without giving up a goal kick. Two all.

And just when I’m saying something along the lines of We can’t have another late winner can we? Surely, we’ve used up all our Get Out Of Jail Free Cards this season. Right? Just when I’m deciding whether or not to believe in miracles, Yossi is down the right side in decent space. He launches in an inch-perfect cross for Torres who nods his head like it’s the simplest task in the world, as if heading the ball past David James a minute-and-a-half into injury is no more earth-shattering than shaking the water off your head after a shower. I’m still not sure I believe it. But the highlight reels suggest I didn’t imagine it.

2-3. Final score.

Coming from behind twice and the late winner. Key ingrediants to a good classic. But add to that the Funky Starting XI and The Manager Takes A Risk And Gets It Right and you’ve got something beyond special. I doubted Rafa and he showed me.

Now… what about this formation against Stoke City next season only with Gerrard, Xabi and Johnson in the starting XI? Hmmm…

Tomorrow: Part 3 or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Beating Manchester United…

What Makes A Classic Football Match? Part 1

Ethan Armstrong — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:09:08 +0000

In Fever Pitch, Nick Hornby tells us what a match requires to be “really, truly memorable.” He wants as many of the following as possible (and I paraphrase): goals, bad refereeing decisions, a noisy Crowd, rain etc, opposition misses a penalty, opposition receives a red card, a disgraceful incident.

I’m with him on everything except maybe the disgraceful incident. And I would add to the list: A short bout of bad football from one’s own side. There’s probably a better way to phrase it, but ultimately, my favorite matches are the ones where my side royally screws things up early so they can redeem themselves later on. Ideally some bad defending is involved. There’s nothing like seeing your side go down early and come back late.

Hornby touches upon this, even if he doesn’t give the sentiment its own bullet point:

“If goals are to be shared, then it is best if the other team get theirs first: I have a particular penchant for the 3-2 home victory, with a late winner after losing 2-0 at half-time. ”

Amen. For me, a real classic is a tight match where the other side gets the early lead. Manchester United beating Ipswich 9-0 may be historic. But there is not enough dramatic tension in a goal rout to make it a classic. Manchester defended too well for that. Clean sheets are wonderful. But they don’t give a match a classic plot-line unless there’s a late winner just before the end (Liverpool jumping on Yossi Benayoun after his late Fulham goal is still the desktop picture on my laptop).The come-from-behind match. The injury-time winner. Desperate ingredients such as these are essential in the recipe for that match that stays with you forever. Like your first kiss. Or your first time seeing someone naked outside of a bad 80s movie (Teen Wolf and Police Academy were border-line porn when I was six-years-old). Of course these matches often kill me while I’m watching them. Even if they are half enjoyble, I can feel them shaving years off the end of my life. But in retrospect, once the points have been secured, they become epic.

This week I look at some of the matches from last season I feel have the most potential for classic status. They all involve Liverpool… (yes, I’m a Liverpool supporter who started an article quoting Nick Hornby. Go ahead: book me for literary football blasphemy.) They all involve Liverpool going behind a goal or more at some point.

1.) Manchester City 2-3 Liverpool – 5 Oct 2008

If you told me this match had been produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, I might have believed you. It was packed full of suspense and dramatic events.

Nineteen minutes in, Shaun Wright-Phillips—whose pace and devilish skill would have me on edge all match (how, I wished Liverpool had scooped him up from Chelsea)—stole the ball from Aurelio and shot down the right. I swear, you could see smoke coming off his boots as he torpedoed in. He sent the ball boxward, it came back to him, and his second attempt and the resulting penalty-area confusion saw Stephen Ireland gobble up a loose ball and blast it past Pepe Reina.

City were up. But I consoled myself with our recent results against Middlesbrough, Manchester United and Marseille. All wins after we’d been a goal down. There was plenty of time to recover.

Then on 43 minutes, a speeding Wright-Phillips (who else?) tumbles and City get a free kick. Garrido (I know—I’d never heard of him either) curls one into the right corner. Garridinho? Two-nil to City. Are you serious?

Rafa must have given the perfect rally talk in the dressing room. I like to think he simply whips out the transcript of his half-time Istanbul speech for such occassions. Liverpool came out a different side. Ten minutes after the break, Xabi finds Mascherano. Masch finds Gerrard. Gerrard finds Arbeloa. Arbeloa finds Torres. GOAL!!!!! Perfect team build-up with El Nino getting to the ball just as the defender is taking him down. Okay. Still lots of time.

Then: elation. I love red cards. I’m sorry. I really do. Vidic. Cahill. Valencia. Lampard. Barton. Players would be lining up to get ejected all season for challenges on Xabi Alonso. At City’s ground, it would be Zabeleta’s turn. Not as Oh-My-God-We’re-Going-To-Beat-United satisfying as seeing Vidic go… not as Why-The-Hell-Did-He-Do-That-Oh-Yeah-Because-He’s-Joey-Barton baffling as Barton’s sliding stupidity in May… yet the Zabeleta ejection after his studs-up tackle has that incomperable contextual savoriness because Liverpool were still down a goal and now one really felt like the Reds could score two in the remaining 23 minutes.

Sure enough, Liverpool’s pressure soon led to a corner. Nobody tracked El Nino’s run. He elevated and headed home Gerrard’s service. Extra rewarding because Liverpool’s corners are usually about as threatening as a snarling shih tzu tied to a massive ”Beware of Dog” sign.

Then: heartbreak. Martin Skrtel, Liverpool’s resident brick wall, jumps to control a ball and falls awkwardly on his right leg. Skrtel, who’d been a first-choice centre-back since the previous winter, is carried off as supporters pray that Liverpool can squeeze in one more miracle with their remaining ten players. (And of course, that their favorite Slovakian defender will get well soon. Knew I forgot something.)

Six minutes of injury time are given. Liverpool will only need two.

Benayoun digs into the left-hand side. He sends it back to Torres at the edge of the box. Torres fires. The ball deflects. Kuyt pounces. GOAL!!! Kuyt’s running and sliding. The side goes wild! So do we!

From utter devastation to total victory in a little over a half hour. One of the greatest matches I’ve seen. (Also, I now feel a deeper connection to Rafa Benitez because I feel confident we were out buying ulcer medication at about the same time.) One of the highlights of a standout season.

To non-Liverpool supporters: what do you deem a recent classic for your own club? To Liverpool supporters: once I finish the cycle (four or five articles) which of these do you feel is the biggest contender? Have I missed anything? I look forward to your thoughts.

Tomorrow: Part 2… Rafa Fields A Strange XI on the South Coast…