What a Thrill!

Beep!

With the referee's crisp whistle, Xabi Alonso reluctantly came to a stop.

Turning around, he saw Berbatov lying on the ground and backed away with a wry smile.

The Bulgarian center forward pulled on his teammate's hand and climbed to his feet.

He had just tried to dribble past Xabi Alonso, but he had never expected this Spanish midfielder, renowned for his organization and passing ability, to be so tenacious. Xabi had refused to be muscled aside, and Berbatov had nearly lost possession in the end.

Fortunately, Berbatov was no fool. Taking advantage of a small movement from Xabi Alonso, he went down.

Manchester United had won a free-kick opportunity in the attacking third.

It could not really be called a dive, because Xabi Alonso had indeed made a small movement.

Still, a good attacking opportunity had been lost.

Xabi Alonso retreated into the penalty area and helped set up the wall.

As the team's holding midfielder and its organizational core, he had begun to sense the changes in Manchester United's tactics between the first and second halves, along with the new problems they had created.

Ferguson had started with a 4-3-3 Formation. Carrick had sat deep in midfield, with Scholes and Anderson farther forward. Neither player was inclined toward defending; both were attacking players who positioned themselves somewhat toward the flanks. Rooney and Tevez, meanwhile, actively dropped back to help defend in midfield.

In theory, there was nothing wrong with this approach.

That was why Liverpool's attack had looked lively in the first half but had struggled to create clear-cut scoring chances. Ferguson's understanding of defensive tactics was truly outstanding.

Of course, Manchester United's first-half tactics had also benefited from Benayoun lacking energy on the right. If Crouch had been on the pitch, Kuyt had moved to