One Man’s Trash: Liverpool Through to Carling Cup Final

Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City (Agg: 3-2)
De Jong 31’, Gerrard 41’, Dzeko 67’, Bellamy 74’
 

Manchester City arrived at Anfield at a one goal disadvantage in the second-leg of their Carling Cup semifinal against Liverpool after Steven Gerrard scored in typical fashion in a penalty at Etihad.

Despite facing a top of the table Man City, Liverpool went into the clash holding the advantage: home turf, no new injuries, and the prize of a trip to Wembley- their first since 1996- within their grasp.

Manchester City found themselves ahead of Liverpool after Nigel Kung-Fu de Jong, in perhaps a moment of confusion, connected with the ball instead of an LFC player’s leg and scored from 25-yards away.

Liverpool retaliated before the half, drawing even after a perfectly placed Steven Gerrard penalty™, given after City’s Micah Richards deflected a shot from Liverpool’s Daniel Agger only to have it bounce back up to his hand.

Skipper Steven Gerrard takes his penalty, placing it well away from Joe Hart.

The second half, despite the addition of Kun Aguero, began with Liverpool’s dominance. Man City’s saving grace came in the form of the blond angel otherwise known as Joe Hart. Hart dove to save a strike from Martin Skrtel with one hand in the 53^rd minute only to block a shot from Stewart Downing at the far post seconds later.

The Reds were on their guard soon enough in the second half after a close-range shot from Edin Dzeko found the back of the net.

Liverpool’s shining moment came in the form of Craig Bellamy seven minutes later, however. Bellamy, who left Etihad for Anfield for a nominal fee of £0, neared the goal after an exchange with Glen Johnson and took a shot that even Joe Hart would be unable to stop. Shall we call attention to the old “one man [City]’s trash is another man’s treasure” adage?

                  Craig Bellamy proves to be a treasure, ensuring Liverpool a place in the Carling Cup Final.

Liverpool was able to comfortably retain their lead for the remaining 16 minutes, showing a remarkable change from this weekend’s disappointing fixture against Bolton, and defeated Manchester City 2-2 (Agg: 3-2).

Steven Gerrard and Martin Skrtel celebrate the Liverpool win post-match.

Liverpool FC owner John Henry was on hand in the director’s box at Anfield to see his boys earn a well-deserved place in the Carling Cup final, which will be Liverpool’s record 11^th appearance in the fixture, against incumbents Cardiff City next month.

Next Matches: 
Liverpool v Manchester United. FA Cup, 4^th Round. January 28. 7:45 AM EST.
Manchester City v Everton. EPL. January 31. 3:00 PM EST.

Written by Yasmien Mizyed