Legends: Liverpool 2 Manchester United 1

Saturday 24 September 2022 17:18

Manchester United were defeated 2-1 by Liverpool at Anfield, in the second leg of the Legends of the North, raising further awareness and funds for important charitable causes.

The match was the return fixture of the first leg, which was held at Old Trafford in May, raising more than £1.3 million for Manchester United Foundation.

Our former players entered the game looking to overturn a 3-1 deficit from that first leg, with new faces such as manager Andy Ritchie, captain Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher and Roy Keane to name just a few.

Despite taking an early first-half lead through Dimitar Berbatov, United were pegged back by the hosts after the break, with Mark Gonzalez and Florent Sinama Pongolle both finishing well to seal the win for the hosts.

Following the successful charity event, which attracted more than 30,000 supporters, read about how the action unfolded...

Dimitar Berbatov opened the scoring with a brilliant strike.

FIRST HALF

United Legends started the fixture the better of the two sides, with Berbatov getting an early sighter of goal, only to scuff his effort into the floor.

But the Bulgarian didn’t have to wait long for another opportunity, and this time made no mistake to fire a sumptuous volley beyond Jerzy Dudek and into the far corner.

The hosts responded well to going behind, and were almost level when Maxi Rodriguez broke in behind the United defence, only to see his close-range striker repelled by Raimond van der Gouw.

The rest of the first period was evenly matched, with further chances coming for either side in the form of a low Karel Poborsky shot which whistled wide of Dudek’s goal, and an acrobatic effort from Rodriguez which failed to hit the target.

SECOND HALF

At the beginning of the second period, Sir Kenny Dalglish made eight changes to his side, and these alterations had an immediate impact.

Gonzalez, who scored two goals in the Legends of the North first leg at Old Trafford, was on hand to slot home Robbie Keane’s centre to draw Liverpool level, before van der Gouw was forced into a brilliant reaction save to stop Keane giving the hosts the lead.

As the half progressed, Liverpool continued to push for a second, and Keane again found space in the box, firing his shot wide.

Roy Keane's second-half introduction was a key talking point from the Anfield clash.

And United almost made the striker pay for his profligacy, as Jesper Blomqvist rose high and powered a header towards goal from a corner, only to see Sander Westerveld spring across his goal to turn it round the post.

There was much anticipation before kick-off for the appearance of United great Roy Keane, and the Irishman joined the action late into the second half, being greeted with a chorus of boos from the Anfield crowd, which we know he would have been relishing.

But Keane's debut for our Legends team didn't pan out quite as he would have hoped, as Florent Sinama Pongolle gave Liverpool a late lead when he fired home from outside the box.

Fraizer Campbell managed to have the ball in the back of the net as full-time approached, but the United striker was adjudged to have strayed offside, meaning that the match ended 2-1 to Liverpool.

Roy Keane plays a pass.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

With 30,896 supporters in attendance at Anfield, the impact of these events for the club's respective Foundations and charitable causes is evident.

United may have lost the game, but the players and staff involved will be able to rest easy knowing how much of a difference the match will make to the futures of people in the North West.

In the first leg, Manchester United Foundation raised more than £1.3 million, and the money raised from today's content will continue to help people who need it in our region.

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