STEVEN Gerrard scored an early penalty before Liverpool shut up shop to complete a disciplined 1-0 win at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium in the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final. City endured a forgettable evening with Vincent Kompany suspended, David Silva missing due to an ankle injury and Mario Balotelli surviving only 40 minutes before he departed the action as the home side struggled to find any real momentum.
Liverpool struck after a sustained period of pressure in the opening 12 minutes when Gerrard slammed a penalty beyond Joe Hart low to the England goalkeeper’s right after a nervy Stefan Savic had needlessly brought down Daniel Agger in the box.
The return leg of the semi-final will be contested at Anfield on January 25 with Liverpool chasing a first final appearance at Wembley since they lost to Manchester United at the old national stadium in 1996.
There is plenty of life left in this match as Gerrard later pointed out, but Liverpool will feel they have gained a measure of revenge having lost 3-0 to City in the Premier League at the same venue last week.
The winner of this match will be heavy favourites to carry off the traditional League Cup with a match against Crystal Palace or Cardiff City – Palace hold a 1-0 lead before visiting Cardiff – looming in the final.
City manager Roberto Mancini was unhappy with the nature of Glen Johnson’s two-footed tackle on Joleon Lescott coming only days after Kompany was sent off for a similar tackle on Nani in his side’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup third round. Like Kompany, Johnson won the ball but his tackle went unpunished by the referee Lee Mason.
In hindsight, Mancini has more to trouble him having watched his side toil to break down a Liverpool side who decided to sit deep and soak up pressure in the second half, but never looked under any real threat of conceding a goal.