Mark Gonzalez scored again as Liverpool Legends came from behind to beat Man United 2-1 in an entertaining charity match at Anfield on Saturday.
Liverpool Legends 2-1 Man United Legends (5-2 on aggregate)
Legends of the North (2), AnfieldSeptember 24, 2022
Goals
Berbatov 7′ (assistance: Campbell)González 47′ (assistance: Keane)Sinama-Pongolle 82′
After a rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone, sung by many in attendance at Anfield for the first time, Man United started quickly and opened the scoring thanks to a fantastic volley from Dimitar Berbatov.
Liverpool got going after that, and Alonso began spraying passes down the middle, controlling play in the usual position for Steven Gerrard’s Legends team.
Another of Liverpool’s ‘best midfielders in the world’ was also involved. Although the match was well-mannered in aid of the LFC Foundation, Momo Sissoko, who was doing most of the midfield running, showed there was no love lost when he delivered a cheeky elbow to Berbatov in the back after the Kop booed him jovially. the arrival of the United team.
To the delight of the crowd, the tackles continued to fly, but Bjorn Tore Kvarme became the first casualty and was forced to retire early after being caught by a sliding challenge.
Roy Keane wasn’t even on the field yet!
Liverpool continued to attack and Aurelio was the next to shoot from afar. However, he cut off his effort well and was quickly sent back to the halfway line by his captain, Alonso.
There was almost a moment of sheer brilliance late in the first half when Alonso floated a precise ball back to Maxi RodrÃguez who, from an angle, flew through the air and volleyed through the goal only to miss the far post.
Halftime: Liverpool Legends 0-1 Men United Legends
There were eight changes made at half time by the management team of Sir Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush and John Aldridge.
They made an immediate impact after the break, with Robbie Keane, making his Legends debut, calmly finding Gonzalez, who finished for the first time in the bottom corner, restoring the Reds’ two-goal aggregate lead that he had helped achieve. , scoring twice in a 3–1 win at Old Trafford in May.
The Mark Gonzalez goal that leveled LFC Legends?
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 24, 2022
Djimi Traore’s start was not so positive. Seconds after coming on, he collided with an opposition player in typical Traore fashion and received a yellow card for the foul.
If the Malian’s clumsiness wasn’t enough, fans were treated to a lot more nostalgia, including the sight of Martin Skrtel sticking his head where it hurts. He was ejected after an hour following a mid-air collision with Kevin Pilkington.
Update on the Slovak’s hair, he’s got a lot and it’s baffling to say the least.
The pace became more leisurely as the game went on, but Sander Westerveld managed to stay alert and produce a fantastic save, flying to his left to deflect a Ronny Johnsen header past the post. The silence broke, however, as Roy Keane and Denis Irwin continued with a roar of boos.
However, the two veterans couldn’t help but fight back when Florent Sinama-Pongolle latched onto a loose ball near the penalty spot and sent it into the bottom corner. His celebration was wild and ended with Klopp-style raised fists in front of the Kop.
Sinama-Pongolle’s flank shot proved to be the winner of the match, giving the Anfield crowd cause for celebration at the final whistle. There were smiles everywhere and the final amount raised from the match will be announced in the coming days.
TIA Man of the Match: Xabi Alonso
Referee: Peter Banks
Liverpool Legends: Dudek, Kvarme, Henchoz, Skrtel, Vignal, Sissoko, Downing, Alonso (C), Rodriguez, Le Tallec, Voronin
Subs: Westerveld, Diao, Aurelio, Traore, Gonzalez, Riera, Johnson, Keane, Sinama-Pongolle, Garcia
Manchester United Legends: Van Der Gouw, Valencia, Stam, Johnsen, Pugh, Poborsky, Fletcher, Carrick (C), Gibson, Campbell, Berbatov
Alternates: Pilkington, Irwin, Blackmore, Brown, Keane, Djemba Djemba
