Middlesbrough 2-0 Liverpool

Final score:- Middlesbrough 2-0 Liverpool ( Alonso OG 32′, Sanli Tuncay 63′)

Middlesbrough broke their fourteen game winless run in the Premier League when they beat Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool 2-0 at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday afternoon. An own goal from Xabi Alonso and a second half strike from Turkish forward Sanli Tuncay gave Boro a deserved 2-0 win.  The loss ends any hopes Liverpool might have harboured of winning the title. and to compound matters they have dropped to third place because of Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Wigan.

Liverpool started the game without Fernando Torres, Albert Riera and the hero of their midweek Champions League clash against Real Madrid- Yossi Benayoun. The Reds took time to get into their stride, but Brad Jones was soon called into action by both Nabil El Zhar and Dirk Kuyt. Ryan Babel forced him to make a save as well, but Liverpool seemed to miss that cutting edge upfront. Weirdly Benitez chose to play Martin Skrtel at right back instead of Jamie Carragher,  and the Slovakian international had a torrid first half as Stewart Downing got the better of him time and time again.

Boro took the lead in the 32nd minute from a Downing corner. Xabi Alonso was busy trying to stop David Wheater, and the ball cannoned off his thigh and went into the net. It was Boro’s first league goal at the Riverside since Afonso Alves’ strike against Sunderland in January. Boro got some confidence after that, and held on fairly comfortably till the end of the first half.

Liverpool needed to produce another comeback performance, but this time, it simply wasn’t to be their evening. Gerrard powered his way into the box and left it for El Zhar, whose effort was way off target.  Boro scored their second goal when Gary O’Neill did some brilliant work on the right hand side and slid the ball in for Sanli Tuncay, who scored from point blank range.

Benitez rang in the substitutions, bringing on Ngog for El Zhar and Benayoun for Carragher in an attacking move. Steven Gerrard was also substituted with suspected cramp, and Lucas came on.  However the Reds never got their act going, and Boro emerged deserving winners at the full time whistle.