Liverpool and Arsenal Fall from FA Cup Grace
Saturday, February 16th, 2008 by Dina Ely
Liverpool and Arsenal both toppled from FA Cup contention today in what proved to be a day of upsets from giant-killers and giants alike.
In their fifth round match Liverpool faced Championship league side Barnsley, currently in 14th place in their league table, at Anfield. While Liverpool, 5th place in the Premier league, dominated possession and had a dramatically greater share of shots on goal, they could not penetrate a Barnsley defense largely held firm by debuting keeper Luke Steele. Steele dazzled in a “man of the match”-worthy performance, allowing only one of Liverpool’s 20 shots on goal into the net. Dirk Kuyt scored his first goal for Liverpool since December.
At the opposite end of the field, Liverpool keeper Charles Itandje faced fierce assault from Barnsley’s full compliment, with the equalizing goal coming from defender Stephen Foster. 7,000 Barnsley fans celebrated what looked to be a 1-1 draw, but had even greater reason for celebration when Brian Howard hammered in Barnsley’s second goal during injury time.
Arsenal faced Manchester United at Old Trafford. While neither team featured their complete range of high-profile players - such as the notable absence of Cristiano Ronaldo from the United side - Manchester’s squad proved to have the right chemistry for scoring magic. Before the first half whistle United were 3 goals up to Arsenal’s nil. Wayne Rooney, Darren Fletcher, and Luis Nani were responsible for the goals that virtually guaranteed United’s victory against a struggling Arsenal side.
The situation did not improve for the London team, whose fate was sealed in the 74th minute by a second Fletcher goal, setting the scoreline at 4-0 with little time to recover. Arsenal’s task was further complicated by a red card to Emmanuel Eboue in the 49th minute, rubbing salt in the wounds United had already inflicted. Overall, Manchester’s presence was far greater. They held 56% of possession (to Arsenal’s 44%) and had 12 shots on goal to Arsenal’s 1.
Liverpool, Arsenal, and United will all face European foes in another round of UEFA matches this week. It is widely believed this is the reason that key players were rested for all three teams. However, for all but United, further FA Cup ambitions are over, and Sir Alex Ferguson is one step closer to turning the whispers of “Treble” to full-voiced expectation.
The sixth round of the FA Cup will be played on March 8th.
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