Manchester United 3 Liverpool 2

[celeste]

Manchester United 3-2 Liverpool: Daily Mirror match reportPublished 18:05 19/09/10 By David McDonnell

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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 19: Nani of Manchester United tussles for posession with Paul Konchesky of Liverpool during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford on September 19, 2010 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)Pause Play Left Right 6/41View thumbnails View full screen Turn captions on/off

PrevNextIt has taken two years, but Dimitar Berbatov is finally starting to justify his status as the most expensive player in Manchester United's history.
Just when it seemed United's carelessness at the back had cost them victory for a third time this season, Berbatov came to their rescue to clinch his stunning hat-trick and a dramatic win at Old Trafford.
Even Sir Alex Ferguson admitted Berbatov had become a "whipping boy" after failing to live up to his £30.75million transfer fee, but hailed the striker's "touch of genius" following his match-winning display over United's arch rivals.
The biggest game in the Premier League calendar, according to Fergie, lived up to its billing with a second-half of unremitting drama, Liverpool clawing their way back onto level terms against the odds before Berbatov struck the killer blow with six minutes left. Berbatov looks like a player reborn, the 29-year-old brimming with confidence and attacking intent, a far cry from the forlorn figure who ended last season mired in self-recrimination, after failing to step up to the mark when Wayne Rooney was injured.
Berbatov put United on their way to a victory, one which should have been far more comfortable than it ultimately was, three minutes before half-time, stooping to score with a low header, while holding off Fernando Torres, whose lame attempt to hold his marker was truly lamentable.
Quite why Torres, whose forte is clearly not defending, was designated to man-mark Berbatov for the corner from which United score, only Liverpool know, but Berbatov showed impressive strength and agility in scoring from such an unlikely position.
United could have had a second in the 56th minute when Nani, whose brilliance on the ball was marred only by his theatrics in going to ground too easily, beat Pepe Reina with a thunderous shot, only to see hit the framework of the goal and bounce to safety.
But United doubled their lead three minutes later. Berbatov's second goal was the pick of the three and the perfect illustration of his new-found confidence, an audacious over-head kick from a Nani cross which was majestic in its creation and breathtaking in its execution, leaving Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina rooted to the spot.
Old Trafford - minus the pocket of Liverpool fans shoe-horned into a corner of the stadium - rose to acclaim one of the great goals of this historic and eagerly-anticipated fixture, but United's joy was short-lived as their capacity for self-destruction blighted them once more.
After squandering winning positions against Fulham and Everton, blowing a two-goal lead in added time at Goodison Park the previous weekend, Fergie warned his players they could not afford a repeat of such carelessness if they were serious about wanting to regain the title.
But four minutes after Berbatov's strike, and when United were in absolute control, Jonny Evans conceded a needless penalty to hand Liverpool a lifeline they barely deserved. Joe Cole funnelled the ball through to Fernando Torres, whose clever drag-back caught out Evans, who clumsily chopped him down.
Ref Howard Webb was right to point to the spot, despite Evans and United's protests, and Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard stepped up to dispatch the spot-kick past Edwin van der Sar, the goal signalling a shift in momentum to Liverpool for the first time in the game.
Within six minutes the visitors were level, Raul Miereles threading the ball through to Torres, who was hauled down by John O'Shea just outside the United area as the Liverpool striker looked to be clean through with only van der Sar to beat.
Liverpool were incensed O'Shea was not shown a red card, but Webb clearly felt Torres was not going to get to the ball, which served only to compound the United defender's stupidity in conceding a free-kick from which there were to be even more damaging consequences.
There was a sense of inevitability as Gerrard stood over the ball, van der Sar's positioning and United's wall open to question as the Liverpool skipper clipped the ball through a gap between O'Shea and Darren Fletcher to complete the unlikeliest of comebacks.
United looked to have thrown away victory for the third time in four games until O'Shea sent a looping cross into the Liverpool penalty area in the 84th minute and Berbatov rose above Jamie Carragher to send a glancing header into the far corner of the net.
Old Trafford became a sea of delirium and Fergie danced his familiar grandfather-at-a-wedding-jig in the dugout as match-winner Berbatov was mobbed by his team-mates. Victory kept United within touching distance of leaders Chelsea, while for Liverpool their season of soul-searching goes

Read more: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Manchester-United-3-2-Liverpool-Daily-Mirror-match-report-Dimitar-Berbatov-justifies-his-30-75million-transfer-fee-with-superb-hat-trick-article584239.html#ixzz100ymj0qk
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[atmosferik]

A fine result for Manchester United... Maybe in a few years Liverpool will be back... But its a distant dream at the moment!!!
 
Tom.
 

[celeste]

Roy Hodgson is proven to be a good manager lets hope he doesn't get dragged into any in-fighting.
Torres and Kuyt are great players maybe they should build the team round them and of course Gerrard.