Premier League: Manchester United v Liverpool full time report
Man Utd 3 Liverpool 2
Dimitar Berbatov scored a hat-trick as Manchester United overcame a remarkable Liverpool fightback to beat their great rivals in a thrilling encounter at Old Trafford.
Bulgarian forward Berbatov headed in a Ryan Giggs corner shortly before half time to give the hosts the lead that their early dominance had deserved, but the real drama was to come in the second half.
United looked as though they’d made the game safe when Berbatov scored a superb overhead kick off the underside of the crossbar early in the second period, but a dogged Liverpool roared back, and struck twice in six minutes through their captain Steven Gerrard – firstly from a penalty and then a free kick.
However, Berbatov headed in a John O’Shea cross six minutes from time to seal both his treble and his side’s victory.
It was the Bulgarian’s day, but Liverpool will be shattered after hauling themselves back into a match that had looked as though it had gone.
With so much of the pre-match focus on the form of Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres, the 180th meeting of these two great rivals had been billed as a straight shootout between the pair, but it was United who started well on top, and Nemanja Vidic was appealing for a penalty when he tangled with Jamie Carragher from a corner.
Liverpool weathered the initial storm in heavy rain at Old Trafford, but Portuguese winger Nani soon missed a glorious chance after linking up well with Rooney. The United man sidefooted wide from close range when the goal looked to be at his mercy.
After United’s initial dominance, Liverpool had started to keep possession, and one dynamic dash from Torres caused havoc in the home defence but ultimately came to nothing.
The Reds had appeared to have finally got a strong foothold in the game, but then United struck shortly before the break.
Torres was the wrong side of Berbatov from Giggs’ corner, and United number nine held off the Liverpool number nine before guiding a header past Pepe Reina and defender Paul Konchesky on the line for his fourth goal in five games.
United started the second half on top too, and Reina had to be alert to keep out the Bulgarian shortly after the break after a Darren Fletcher shot had deflected into his path, before Nani’s fierce drive from an angle smashed back off a post. The game’s truly outstanding moment was just around the corner though.
Nani picked out Berbatov just inside the penalty area, and after the forward controlled expertly, he produced an acrobatic overhead kick that hit the underside of the crossbar before dropping over the line. The Bulgarian is undoubtedly in the best form of his United career, but if he and Sir Alex Ferguson thought that the goal would kill off the visitors then they were to be hugely mistaken.
Joe Cole sprang forward, and after feeding Torres, the Spanish forward tricked Jonny Evans before being hauled down. It was a stonewall penalty despite United protests, and Gerrard duly dispatched it.
Moments later, another Reds break saw Raul Meireles look for Torres, and after O’Shea had hauled back the forward, Liverpool had a free kick on the very edge of the box. O’Shea was only booked despite being the last man, but any Liverpool frustrations at the lack of a red card was soon to evaporate as captain Gerrard curled a shot through the wall and into the net for an improbable equaliser. Liverpool and Gerrard had scored twice in six minutes to come back from the dead.
United threw on young substitute Federico Macheda – so often a lucky charm – in a bid to regain the lead, but it was their brilliant Bulgarian who’d soon do that for them.
Only six minutes remained when O’Shea crossed from the right, and Berbatov rose above Carragher to nod home his third, becoming the first Manchester United player to score a hat-trick against Liverpool in 64 years.
Liverpool were out on their feet now, and were unable to muster a response.
Berbatov was substituted shortly before the end to a standing ovation, after a day that he will never forget. The Bulgarian will be the toast of one side of Manchester tonight.
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