Lucky! Giggs admits Man United played badly against Liverpool in Anfield battle

Posted Monday, September 24, 2012 by Dailymail

Ryan Giggs admitted Manchester United were lucky to win in Sunday's emotionally-charged encounter with Liverpool with a 2-1 victory despite never reaching their best form.

The game was Liverpool's first at Anfield since the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel's report, which exonerated fans in relation to the 1989 disaster.

The hosts played 51 minutes with 10 men after Jonjo Shelvey's sending-off but still managed to take the lead through Steven Gerrard's volley seconds after the interval.

Lucky! Giggs admits Man United played badly against Liverpool in Anfield battle
Undeserved: Ryan Giggs (right) admitted United played poorly

However, Rafael equalised for United soon after while Robin van Persie ensured it was Sir Alex Ferguson's men leaving with all three points when he slotted away a late penalty after Glen Johnson had brought down Antonio Valencia.

Veteran midfielder Giggs, however, felt the visitors were far from their best.

'Over the last three or four years we've come here and played a lot better and not got anything - that's how it goes sometimes,' Giggs told Sky Sports 1.

'It's always tough against a team like Liverpool who keep the ball well.

'Even if they go down to 10 men they don't change, they keep the ball, and that's always tough.'

Giggs admitted, however, that it was his side's equaliser rather than Shelvey's dismissal that finally injected some belief into the United players.

'The crowd got up and we didn't play well, we didn't keep the ball well enough, so it was great to see Rafa's goal go in - that probably lifted us,' he said.

Giggs and Gerrard released 96 red balloons in memory of the Hillsborough victims before the match as part of a number of tributes, but the former Wales international did not feel the emotion of the occasion got to his team-mates.

'No, I don't think so,' he said. 'It's just a tough place to come and Liverpool obviously wanted to put on a performance because of the occasion, and they did that.'

Ferguson echoed his captain's view that United had been far from at their best.
'A win's a win, so we've got to be pleased with the result, but not the performance,' he told Sky Sports 1.

He continued: 'I thought we were poor. Over the last four years we have allowed the (Anfield) crowd to get at us a little bit.'

'They gave fantastic support to their team and they dominated.

'We played better in the second half but it was against 10 men and Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs' experience got us through.

'No doubts about the penalty though, it was reckless.

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