EPL 2011-12: Liverpool hold City to 1-1 draw as Speed mourned
LONDON: Manchester City received a mild blow on Sunday when Liverpool held them to a 1-1 draw in the Barclays English Premier League match but the action was overwhelmed by the sudden death of Wales manager Gary Speed.
Gary Speed, 42, was found dead as apparently he committed suicide for some unknown reasons.
In another match, Swansea City and Aston Villa played a goal-less draw but the big game was between Manchester City and Liverpool which started with a sparkling spirit and speed.
The first goal came in the 31st minute when Vincent Kompany headed one in the back of net but just two minutes later Joleon Lescott of Manchester City scored one but in his own goal which equalized the affair. However, Manchester City were further dented hard towards the later stages of the match when substitute Mario Balotelli was sent off after he was booked twice in his brief appearance on the field.
Dalgish told Sky Sports after the match, “It was best for me to make the decision for Craig. He was very close to Gary who was almost a mentor to him, someone he admired and looked up to, and he was upset. There’s no way a game of football is more important than grief.”
Gary Speed was mourned all across the England as he was the first soccer player ever to feature in over 500 matches in the English Premier League in his career which spanned over teams like Everton, Leeds United, Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United, and Sheffield United and he was appointed manager of Wales in December last year.
After the end of the Sunday action, Manchester City are still comfortably placed on top of the league table with 35 points from 13 matches, while Manchester United are five points away from the leaders at 30 points and Tottenham Hotspur are third with 28 points. With drawn game against City, Liverpool surged to sixth place with 23 points.
Dalgish stated, “I think they started better than us but we were the better team at the end. It was fortunate for us we got the equaliser as quickly as we did, it kept the spirits up. We tried our very best to win it in the second half but unfortunately we just could not get it over the line.”
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, who was celebrating his 47th birthday on Sunday, was satisfied with the result. He said, “It’s a good result for us because we played with 10 men for the last few minutes. But for me the second Balotelli foul was not a yellow card, he didn’t deserve it.”
Vincent Kompany. Courtesy: Reuters
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