Sunday, January 24, 2021

Manchester Utd v. Liverpool (4th Round of the F.A. Cup)

All English football fans older than 45 are unhappy with the F.A. Cup.  Up until around 1999 or so, the F.A. Cup was probably the most entertaining sporting event in the world.  But the big clubs in England decided that they didn't want to devote their resources to the Cup, as they would rather win the League -- or even more importantly, the European Champions' League.  So the F.A. Cup has dramatically fallen in esteem, and some of its best traditions (replays, semi-final matches at various neutral sites across the country) have fallen away.  Even a match like this one -- the UNC and Duke of English soccer, meeting in the Round of 32 -- leads to more complaints about how each team won't field its strongest side.

But so far, this game (played in an empty Old Trafford) has been a cracker.  Mohamed Salah, Liverpool's biggest star, did turn up for this game, and he put the Reds up 1-0 after 18 minutes.  Then United struck back with goals in the 26th and 48th minutes to take a 2-1 lead.  Then Salah struck again on 58 minutes to tie the score at 2.

After 65 minutes, it's still 2-all.  We don't have replays, so this game could be headed for penalty kicks.  But for now, the radio commentators are telling us what a great Cup Tie this has been.

The winner will go to the Sweet 16, where they will play West Ham United.

6 comments:

  1. On 66 minutes, United puts in two players who usually start. Now that we're so close to the end, both teams are really trying to win.

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  2. Liverpool, the defending champions of England, are sending wave after wave of attacks at the United goal. United will be looking to counter-attack, which is how they scored their previous two goals.

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  3. I'm listening to this game on the Tune In radio app. Soccer is the one sport that is more exciting on the radio than on TV.

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  4. In the 78th minute, Bruno Fernandes -- a Man Utd star who was going to sit this one out but who came on as a sub in the 66th minute -- scores on a spectacular free kick to give United a 3-2 lead. What a game!

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  5. If this game had been played in 1977, everyone our age would remember it as one of the greatest games ever played. I complain about how sports have changed as much as anyone, but I don't think we're very fair to today's athletes.

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  6. And United have won the game 3 to 2, so they move on to the Fifth Round. Liverpool becomes the first of the major powers to be eliminated from the F.A. Cup.

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