Instant notoriety is guaranteed for a young spectator who effectively condemned Liverpool to a 1-0 defeat against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
The “supporter,” who was wearing a dark blue top — the color of Liverpool’s city rivals Everton — has been captured on YouTube throwing a beachball into the penalty area during a Sunderland attack.
He could not have imagined the consequences: A shot from Darren Bent struck the ball and diverted it past goalkeeper Pepe Reina for the decisive goal in Saturday’s match.
PHOTO: AFP
The incident provoked surprising responses from the two managers, with Liverpool’s Rafael Benitez remarkably sanguine about a goal that brought about his team’s third successive defeat.
Asked if the goal should have been disallowed, Benitez said: “It’s a technical question. It could be a goal, but it’s difficult to say. In this case, I think it should be a goal.”
Steve Bruce, the Sunderland manager, was not so certain after speaking to a referee after the game about “outside interference.”
“I’ve been told the laws of the game state it should have been disallowed and the game restarted with a drop ball,” he said. “But does anybody know that rule?”
Bent didn’t care who was right. He was just happy to claim a goal that meant he’d scored in each of Sunderland’s last five games.
This was Liverpool’s third successive defeat and their fourth in the league this season — and no team has won the championship after losing so many times in the past decade.
Sunderland moved above Liverpool with the victory and into seventh place.
Manchester United regained top spot in the Premier League with a 2-1 victory over Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford.
Reigning champions United ended the day a point ahead of Chelsea, who started the weekend in first place but were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa in Saturday’s early kick-off.
Tottenham remained third as former Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp saw his current side hang on to beat the basement club 2-1 in a Fratton Park match where both sides finished a man down.
Spurs’s north London rivals Arsenal moved into the top four with a 3-1 win at home to Birmingham.
Manchester United went ahead in the fifth minute when Bolton defender Zat Knight put through his own net after Patrice Evra’s cross was flicked on by Michael Owen. They doubled their lead when Antonio Valencia turned in Gary Neville’s cross at the near post to score his first United goal since his pre-season move from Wigan.
In other games, Stoke beat West Ham 2-1 while Everton and Wolves drew 1-1.
In yesterday’s early game, Blackburn beat Burnley 3-2.
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