Man Utd 2-1 Liverpool – Cautious Approach Costs Rodgers

Photo courtesy of liverpoolfc.com

By Jonathan Carroll

Brendan Rodgers brought his Liverpool team to Old Trafford on Sunday to prove his team could compete with teams above them in the league. For the first forty-five minutes there wasn’t much of a competition. Manchester United dominated possession and Liverpool allowed them to do as much. Rodgers’ tactics of sitting back, soaking up the pressure played to United’s strengths. Giving them time on the ball allows a good team to be quite dangerous. Liverpool were lucky to only be a goal behind at half time.

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Tale of the Tape: Pepe Reina versus David De Gea

(or goalkeeping statistics of one sort and another…)

by Bill Farnham

In Monday’s Football Weekly podcast from the Guardian, deputy sports editor Barry Glendenning discussed a number of Premier League and La Liga goalkeepers, including Asmir Begovic, David De Gea, Iker Casillas, and Pepe Reina, speculating at one point on the feasibility of Casillas and De Gea switching teams. In light of the upcoming match against Manchester United, and because both Reina and De Gea have come in for a fair amount of criticism over the last 18 months, I thought it might be interesting to compare their performance both within the frame of the 2012 Premier League season

Man Utd 2-1 Liverpool | Why Would You Shake His Hand? |

By Jonathan Carroll

Many vital questions remain unanswered about Liverpool after this derby match at Old Trafford and sadly most of them pertain to events irrelevant to the issue of winning football games. Welcome to the circus that is the Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra media orgy that has been a dream come true for many English tabloid writer as well as John Terry who must be asking what he has done to deserve this lack of attention for his own racism case.

Jump in the Fire: Suarez, Liverpool head to Old Trafford

By Christopher Boulay

Liverpool heads to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United with an interesting backdrop.

The match is the first time Luis Suarez will meet Patrice Evra since Suarez’s suspension. The seemingly never-ending feud surrounding the two players may finally get closure this Saturday, but just like during Liverpool’s FA Cup win over United at Anfield, tensions will be high.

Liverpool 1-1 Man Utd – Fergie’s Smash and Grab

Suarez and Evra exchange pleasantries

By Jonathan Carroll

The North-West derby between Liverpool and Manchester United never lived up to the hype. Both teams employed a 4-5-1 system and seemed to stifle each others creativity, although it is noteworthy that Alex Ferguson’s conservative team selection shows a fear of Liverpool’s revamped team if not a little respect.

King Kenny and the Curious Case of Whiskey Nose

By Jonathan Carroll

The Liverpool and Manchester United rivalry is the biggest rivalry for both clubs. The importance of these fixtures to both sets of supporters has long overtaken the local rivalries — the Merseyside and Manchester derbies. This rivalry dates back to a reserve team game in Glasgow and came to light during this week following Manchester United’s draw against Benfica. How does it all come together?