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Babel’s strike sinks Manchester United

He capitalises on a mistake by Giggs to score in the 77th minute

— Photo: AFP

THE HERO: Ryan Babel (right), who netted the match-winner, gets a pat from Robbie Keane.

LIVERPOOL: Substitute Ryan Babel scored a late goal to give Liverpool a 2-1 win and its first Premier League victory over Manchester United in more than four years on Saturday.

The Netherlands winger scored in the 77th minute at Anfield after an error by Manchester United substitute Ryan Giggs.

Javier Mascherano had dispossessed Giggs near the byline, and Dirk Kuyt was able to collect the ball and pass it across the face of the goal to Babel, whose shot went straight into the ground before bouncing into the back of the net.

Babel had come on six minutes earlier to replace Albert Riera, who played his first game for the Reds.

Carlos Tevez had scored a similar goal in the third minute for Manchester United, which conceded a calamitous own-goal to defender Wes Brown after a mix-up with goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar in the 27th.

United’s misery was compounded in the 90th when Nemanja Vidic was shown a second yellow card.

First win

It was manager Rafa Benitez’s first league victory over United counterpart Alex Ferguson, the last win coming at Old Trafford in April 2004 just before his arrival.

Liverpool had started with striker Fernando Torres and midfielder Steven Gerrard on the bench, while Ferguson deployed striker Dimitar Berbatov for the first time since his $55.1 million move from Tottenham on the last day of the transfer window on September 1.

The Bulgarian formed a new-look strike force with Tevez as Wayne Rooney and Anderson occupied the flanks. The Reds initially struggled to cope with that verve as United took the lead with just its second attacking move of the game.

Berbatov forced the defenders Jamie Carragher and Fabio Aurelio to the byline, then cut the ball back for the unmarked Tevez to divert into the net.

Kuyt unleashed an immediate response at the other end, sending a curling effort wide from 25m.

As Liverpool found a response to United’s dynamism, van der Sar looked to give them a route back into the match when he fumbled a corner.

The Dutch goalkeeper recovered to block Kuyt’s attempt to exploit the error, but his uncharacteristic shakiness wasn’t over as he gifted Liverpool the equaliser.

Attempting to clear Xabi Alonso’s curling shot, van der Sar instead nudged the ball off Brown and it deflected back into his own net.

Tevez came close to restoring United’s lead before half-time when he flicked Anderson’s cross over the crossbar.

Giggs had the best effort after the break when his dipping strike from a distance was expertly tipped over by goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who otherwise had a quiet afternoon.

But it was Liverpool which looked more lively in the second half as it beat United at Anfield for the first time since January 2001, much to the delight of most of the 44,000 fans inside the ground.

The result: Liverpool 2 (Brown 27-og, Babel 77) bt Manchester United 1 (Tevez 3). — AP

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