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Goal of the Day: Rio strikes again v Liverpool

Tuesday 22 October 2019 16:30

Our new 'Goal of the Day' series starts here with Rio Ferdinand's personal favourite for Manchester United, scored on this day 13 years ago. Unlucky for Liverpool...

Date: 22 October 2006, Old Trafford, Premier League  
 
Background: It took a club-record fee for a defender to procure Rio Ferdinand from Leeds United in 2002, but our investment was more than validated over the next 12 seasons of sterling service at Old Trafford. The defensive rock even occasionally contributed huge goals, including this one against rivals Liverpool.
The goal: Sir Alex Ferguson’s title-chasers were already ahead via Paul Scholes’s strike on his 500th club appearance, when Ryan Giggs’s cross found its way to Ferdinand following a slashed clearance from Jamie Carragher. Rio expertly picked the ball out of the air with his right foot, before unleashing an unstoppable left-footed effort high into the net past the helpless Pepe Reina. Bedlam ensued.
What happened next: United comfortably held on to win 2-0 and move back to the top of the Premier League ahead of Chelsea on goal difference, before ultimately reclaiming the title the following May. 
 
Reaction: Years later, Rio admitted: “It was probably my favourite goal I ever scored. The touch to bring it down… Scholesy, Berbatov, people like that couldn’t bring it down as smooth as I did! Then the left foot into the top bin, keeper had no chance. It was my son Lorenz’s first game. I’ve got a picture in my house of me scoring that goal and I haven’t got pictures of any other match, so that’s what it meant.”

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