Liverpool Vs. Manchester United, 2011 Premier League: Full Time, Both Teams Likely Content With Draw

Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish appeared to be attempting to bore the public to death in the first hour or so of their Northwest Derby matchup, but thanks to a sequence of events leading to a Steven Gerrard goal, things finally got a bit spiced up in the end. Liverpool and Manchester United eventually played to a 1-1 draw at Anfield on Saturday afternoon, and it's a result that both teams will likely be content with.

Ferguson opted to leave all of Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Nani on his bench, selecting a defensive lineup. United hadn't won at Anfield since 2008 and Liverpool are in good form, so it's not unreasonable to think that Ferguson was playing for a draw from the start.

The Gerrard goal came on a direct free kick in the 68th minute, given away by Rio Ferdinand. Charlie Adam took a bit of a dive to win it, but the combination of Ryan Giggs' error in stepping away from the wall and the quality of Gerrard's strike make it tough to say that Adam and referee Andre Marriner had a significant unfair effect on the outcome of the game.

At this point, Ferguson brought on his big guns and his moves eventually paid off. On a corner kick, Danny Welbeck flicked on Giggs' ball towards Chicharito, who darted into the six yard box out of seemingly nowhere to get on the end of the ball and head in an equalizer. 

Liverpool pushed for a winner late, but couldn't find it. David De Gea made two brilliant saves in the final 10 minutes, while Jordan Henderson just barely missed a header in stoppage time that he probably should have been able to score. Liverpool were, perhaps, the slightly better team on the night, but a draw was a fair result considering how incredibly poor and dull the initial 65 minutes of the match were.

For more on the two teams involved, check out Liverpool blog Anfield Asylum and Manchester United blog The Busby Babe. Check out all of the weekend's action in the Premiership in our English Premier League Week 8 StoryStream. For more on the entire world of football, head over to SB Nation Soccer.