Manchester City vs Liverpool - 11/01/2012 - Carling Cup Semi Final 1st leg

The Etihad Stadium was the destination of a titanic struggle whereby the reward was being one step closer into competing for the carling cup; not the most prestigious of domestic rewards but one both sides wouldn’t mind having in their trophy cabinet. Mancini, who's Manchester City headed the Premier League table with an impressive 48 points out a possible 60, fielded a strong line-up, with the only question marks regarding David Silva, the influential playmaker who didn't even take up a position on the bench. Likewise, Dalglish fielded a Liverpool team that epitomised their seriousness in this competition, with the only changes being Kelly for Enrique, and Spearing for Adam.

Right from the kick off Liverpool flew straight out the blocks, causing a lot of trouble in the opening 10 minutes. On 4 minutes, Downing played a neat ball through whereby Carroll used pace and power to shrug off Savic, his shot well saved by Hart, and shortly afterwards a precise 25 yard curler from Gerrard forced The current England goalkeeper into making a smart save. However it was on 13 minutes where Liverpool made the breakthrough, Gerrard clinically making full use of a penalty. The corner flew in, and after some hesitation in the box Agger nipped in infront of Savic, who dangerously impeded Agger, forcing referee Mason to point to the spot. As a result, Gerrard stepped up full of confidence, and stroked the ball beyond the reach of Hart straight into the bottom corner, Gerrard once again the Hero for the Liverpool supporters. However, Liverpool's surge fizzled out, and Manchester City enjoyed long periods of possession afterwards but to no reward. Their brightest moment in the first half included a burst of pace from Richards, who soared past fellow England right back Johnson, squaring the ball to Milner who miscued his attempt and the ball scooped high and wide over the Liverpool Crossbar.

The Second half lacked the same excitement of that of the first half, with both teams cancelling each other out. The only highlights included some good footwork by Aguero, but the resulting shot was tame and easily saved by Reina, and Nasri wildly firing over a 20 yard piledriver. Although logic pointed towards a Manchester City win, Liverpool managed to hold on and secure a vital win - leaving Liverpool fans revelling in their teams unlikely success, whereby Manchester City fans went home unhappy, after experiencing a rare loss which has happened so scarcely this year.

FINAL SCORE: MANCHESTER CITY 0-1 LIVERPOOL
ATTENDANCE: 36,017
REFFEREE: MASON

Manchester City Teamsheet: Hart, Richards, Savic, Lescott, Clichy, Milner, Johnson (Dzeko), Barry, De Jong (Kolarov), Aguero, Balotelli (Nasri)

Subs:
Nasri for Balotelli - 39 minutes
Dzeko for Johnson - 66 minutes
Kolarov for De Jong - 72 minutes

Liverpool Teamsheet: Reina, Kelly, Agger, Skrtel, Johnson, Spearing (Adam), Henderson, Gerrard, Downing, Bellamy, Carroll

Adam for Spearing - 23 minutes
Enrique for Downing - 59 minutes
Carragher for Bellamy - 79 minutes

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