Spurred by goals from Steven Gerrard and Craig Bellamy, Liverpool
came back twice from behind to earn a 2-2 draw (3-2 agg) against
Manchester City to take them to the final of the Carling Cup against
Cardiff City.Nigel de Jong had put City ahead on the half hour mark with a superb curling effort from 25 yards out after David Silva had teed him up. But Micah Richards’ handball in the box allowed Steven Gerrard to score from the spot for the second time in the two-legged tie.
Roberto Mancini was furious with the referee’s decision to give a penalty when the ball struck Richards’ arm.
“It was impossible that it was penalty. Micah can’t cut off his arm because the ball touched his leg before. It’s impossible to concede a penalty like this and not give one with Edin Dzeko. For Edin, I am 200% sure it was a penalty.”
It looked like Edin Dzeko had done enough to take City to Wembley on away goals after he tapped in Aleksander Kolarov’s cross on the back post, but ex-Citizen Craig Bellamy had the final say with a cracking goal following a quick exchange with Glen Johnson.
The Welshman was in fantastic form all match, troubling the City defence with his raw pace.
“The omens were not looking good going into tonight. Last night I saw Cardiff go through and I was pleased for them. It couldn’t be a better final for me. It’s funny how football can work out at times. To get to the final is big for us,” he told the BBC.
Maybe the gap could have been a lot more if it wasn’t for Joe Hart in the City goal. The English international was the only difference in long spells of Liverpool‘s dominance.
The match could have been well before the final whistle if the goalkeeper had not made brilliant saves to deny Jose Enrique, Martin Skrtel and Stewart Downing.
The victory also means that Liverpool will play a final at Wembley after a 16 year wait and its importance was plain at the final whistle when Dalglish couldn’t hide his joy with a fist-pump.
The Reds will take on Cardiff City in the finals on 26th February.