Dirk Kuyt missed a great chance to give Liverpool the lead after fine work by Riera on the left hand side, and Manchester City soon punished the Reds as Steven Ireland volleyed home a loose ball after slack defending by Arbeloa. Alonso tried his luck from distance, but it was City who scored next, a fabulous curling free-kick from Garrido nestled in the top corner to make it 2-0. After the break Liverpool quickly halved the deficit, Arbeloa crossed in to Torres who scored his third goal in two games. With City looking to reassert themselves Robinho belied his reputation by missing a glorious chance from 3 yards out (offside?). Matters then worsened for City when Pablo Zabaleta was shown a straight red for a horror challenge (studs up) on Xabi Alonso. And Liverpool made their numerical advantage count when Gerrard’s corner was powered home by Torres, who seemed to have the freedom of the box. Torres then managed to miss a sitter from under the bar, but as the game entered six minutes of injury time Liverpool pulled off the comeback of the season, Benayoun cut-back for Torres, his shot was blocked and Dirk Kuyt popped up to net the winner.