Liverpool ran out 3-2 winners in a game that was certainly not short of controversy at the City of Manchester stadium this afternoon. It ended with both sides having ten men, one player carried off and one sent off, in what proved to be a magnificent game at Eastlands.The visitors had the majority of possession for the first ten minutes or so before Mark Hughes' City finally started to get into the game. It was the hosts who took the lead on 19 minutes when Stephen Ireland lashed home a superb effort after the ball fell to him from a Alvaro Arbeloa challenge on Robinho.
City took complete control of the game from then and were rewarded for their terrific play when Javier Garrido fired a terrific free-kick past the Liverpool keeper Jose Pepe Reina to send City 2-0 up at the break. I don't know what Rafa Benitez said at half-time but his side looked a far better side after the interval.
They pulled one back early in the second-half through the man of the match, Fernando Torres, when he slotted home from all of six-yards to give the visitors hope of snatching something from the game. City could of killed the game if £32.5 million man Robinho had of steered the ball in from all of two-yards. Moments later City were reduced to ten men when summer signing Pablo Zabaleta was shown a straight red for a challenge on Xabi Alonso.
With ten men, it was simply backs to the wall for the home side. Liverpool were rewarded for their persistence when Torres bagged his second of the game from a Steven Gerrard corner. Liverpool were reduced to ten men when Martin Skrtel landed awkwardly on his right-leg and he then had to be stretchered off and unfortunately for the visitors Benitez' had already used his three substitutions so Liverpool had to see out the remainder with ten men.
This didn't stop Liverpool's dominance on the game and Dirk Kuyt grabbed a goal in stoppage time to hand his side all three points and leave Mark Hughes wondering how on earth he lost the game. As a City fan myself, I must admit I was gutted when Kuyt scored late on. I could of taken a draw but a loss is just heart-breaking.
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Elsewhere in the Premier League it finished : Everton 2-2 Newcastle, Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa, Portsmouth 2-1 Stoke City, Tottenham 0-1 Hull City, West Ham 1-3 Bolton.
