FA cup- Liverpool 2-1 Manchester united; Liverpool’s season reignited by cup form
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A good week got even better for the Anfield outfit and even though Dalglish and his team might have shuddered at the thought of playing both Manchester clubs in the space of four days, they came out on top in both ties. 
After eliminating the top two sides in England in a season where the prospect of ending trophy-less is ever so real as much for both Manchester clubs as it is for anyone else, the Kop army might just start to believe again.
Liverpool didn’t play like they’d done midweek, in fact they looked out of sorts, panic-stricken and a tad bit leggy for long spells especially in the first half as Paul Scholes pulled the strings in midfield for Man United. That didn’t stop them from taking the lead albeit against the run of play through a Daniel Agher header that illuminated De Gea’s aerial frailties once more.
Starting lineups and formations
Liverpool started the game in a 4-5-1 shape that had Reina in goal, a back four 
of Kelly, Skrtel, Agher and Enrique. Carragher, Gerard and Henderson started in midfield while Downing, Carroll and Maxi played upfront.
Manchester United started in a 4-5-1 shape with De gea in goal, a back four of Rafael, Evans, Smalling and Evra. Carrick, Scholes and Giggs played in midfield with Valencia, Park and Wellbeck occupying the forward berths.
Mirroring the opposition’s shape
Kenny Dalglish’s tendency to mirror the opposition’s formation in these big ties is well documented on this site and once again, he stuck to that notion. Charlie Adam was over-looked for a stellar defensive performer in Carragher and this tactic was probably made on the presumption of Rooney’s involvement.
Had that been the case, we would have seen Carragher playing deeper and deeper as Rooney pushes forward to form a 3 man central defence. Instead, since United opted for a trio in central midfield, Dalglish pushed Carragher forward into defensive midfield and even though it wasn’t a jaw dropping performance from the England man in an unfamiliar role, it helped avoid a 3 v 2 scenario in that zone.
At the very core of Dalglish’s cup triumphs against the heavy-weights is the fact the he has an extremely versatile group that can change set-ups depending on the formation employed by his opponents. Henderson might not be the most prolific of players but his ability to play in various positions of Liverpool’s midfield makes him the quintessential midfield stalwart in Dalglish’s coaching philosophy.
Both teams started the game in a 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 shape depending on how you chose to look at it and both ended in a 4-4-2 shape. As effective as those reactionary tactics are in the bigger games, they are just as woeful when it comes to playing against minnows that are content to sit back and defend. A draw against Man city for example is a fantastic result but when the same happens against the teams in the bottom half, then question over Dalglish’s ability to leads Liverpool to the league summit are fully justified.
Neither side pressing high, United dominating
Earlier on in the game, both teams opted to drop back when they lost the ball instead of pressing the opposition higher up the pitch. Man united marginally dominated and Liverpool’s goal came at a time when the possession stats read 59/41 in United’s favor, Dalglish was playing a dangerous game especially since Man united’s strategy unlike sides like Arsenal and Man city isn’t entirely based on possession.
Stated succinctly, if you allow Man united possession, more often than not you will get punished and that’s exactly what happened just before the break.
Rooney’s absence might have been welcome news for Liverpoolbut it created a dilemma for Jamie Carragher in midfield. What the most adept defensive midfielders do well is occupying the zone between the lines to provide cover for the defence. What most defenders turned midfielders like Pepe do is tracking the opposition player who plays in the zone and in most cases they play a man marking role.
Without a clear attacking midfielder for Carragher to track, he didn’t seem to know what his role was. His dilemma stemmed from the fact that Giggs, who was United’s most advanced midfielder was still playing too deep, drifting around and sometimes going out left which made it unpractical for the England man to man mark Giggs. United therefore dominated the midfield which is why they had more possession.
Still, that hardly tells the whole story, Dalglish’s side have succeeded in more big games where they’ve had less of the ball. Against Man city in the league for example, they dominated possession, managed more passes than City and yet still went home empty handed after a 3-0 drubbing at the Etihad stadium.
When they sit back, they defend deep, are hard to break down and are more direct. When they pass more, which is often what happens in league games against regular opposition, they are more ponderous on the ball and they allow the opposition to settle behind the ball. By the end of this game, Liverpool had less possession, 43/57 to be exact and yet they had outshot Man united 7 to 2 (on target) and had 5 corners to United’s 1, the consternation on Fergie’s face was justified.
In conclusion, after being dismissed by many as a huge steaming pile of pretenders, Liverpool have proved their mettle in big games by beating Chelsea twice, City once and both Arsenal and Man united. And yet in the majority of those games, they’ve managed less possession than their opponents. The best way to beat Dalglish’s side might prove to be by allowing them to have the ball, luring them into a false sense of security and then pouncing.
