Manchester United v Birmingham City 1-0
Birmingham City had to face down Manchester United on their first day back in the Premier League. United hadn’t lost an opening day fixture since Ipswich Town beat them in 1972. Today they rolled out their 4-3-Rooney-2 formation as Rooney has been given a “license to roam” by Ferguson.
Birmingham never looked entirely comfortable but they still created a few chances and certainly their defense was a lot livelier than the undead corpses stumbling around Everton’s box yesterday. However, Joe Hart appeared a bit panicky in the first half of the game – diving whenever the ball came near him as if someone had yelled, “Incoming!” It’s not a mortar, Joe. At 32 minutes he blocked a shot, almost by accident, with his shoulder. Two minutes later though his luck ran out as Berbatov floated a ball to Rooney who headed the ball into the post and then popped it into the goal off the rebound.
Jerome sent a shot wide of the Manchester goal and the resulting corner had no love for Birmingham either.
Throughout the game the Birmingham forwards never really linked up so Manchester had the luxury of being able to neutralize one player at a time.
In the 74th minute Michael Owen came on waving his brochure at all and sundry.
A few minutes later Benitez grabbed a through ball and beat Manchester defender Fabio to make a composed shot at the goal that was ultimately tipped away by Foster. It was Birmingham’s best chance in the match.
In extra time Michael Owen had the Birmingham goal all to himself and, perhaps with his brochure flapping in his face, had a shot at goal while Hart’s boot, completely without the assistance of Hart himself, caused the ball to saunter off for a corner.
Tottenham Hotspurs v Liverpool 2-1
It was dull stuff for the first 15 minutes and then only broken up by team mates Skrtel and Carragher ramming their heads into each other such was their lust for the ball.
Carragher came back on with a white bandage around his head and blood behind his ears while the right side of Skrtel’s face was obviously hurting him a great deal.
Spur’s Lennon then got a yellow card from a bad challenge on Skrtel who was taking a worse beating than Bruce Campbell in Evil Dead II. Skrtel ran off the field in order to ask the two Rafa Benítez’s if it was ok to keep playing and they both said yes. If he had come back on the pitch with a chain saw instead of a hand at the point it certainly would have done a lot to make this first half more exciting.
Javier Mascherano collided with Lennon and was booked.
The medical staff, 30 minutes in, were the busiest men on the pitch.
Spurs got a free kick just before half-time which was initially blocked but then torched into the goal from 22 yards by Assou-Ekotto which finally lifted the game from the turgid mass it had been; as shapeless and flaccid as a Sarah Palin speech.
Things improved in the second half. Spur’s Aaron Lennon had a terrific 50 yard run into the Liverpool box but stumbled on the ball at the last moment.
Palacios fired one in that Reina deflected over the crossbar with his fingertips.
Gomes, with some thuggish goal keeping, rashly lunged at Glen Johnson and got booked. Gerrard took a penalty kick which he fired straight and high at Gomes who dived right while the ball bounced down from the crossbar and brought the score level.
Carragher clotheslined Defoe and got booked. 3 minutes after Gerrard’s penalty, Modric’s free kick floated into the Liverpool penalty area and was headed in by Sebastien Bassong.
Keane had a couple of strikes at goal but nothing came of them and in the 67th minute Yossi Benayoun came on for Liverpool and Peter Crouch for Spurs, looking together like Jack and the Beanstalk.
5 minutes toward the end of regular time Assou-Ekotto was lucky to get away with shoving Voronin out of the way as Voronin was driving the ball through the Spur’s penalty area.
Six yellow cards were handed out for this match.
