Sir Alex Ferguson slams Fernando Torres for ‘cheating’
The stern look on Sir Alex Ferguson’s face as Steven Gerrard equalised against Manchester United said it all.
Just days after the United manager had publically stated that the carelessness had to stop, his players allowed another seemingly unassailable lead to slip - the third time in under a month.
Had it not been for the imperious Dimitar Berbatov, who scored a late header to seal his hat-trick and his team all three points against Liverpool, Ferguson’s blood pressure would have reached unprecedented levels at the full-time whistle.
But the enigmatic Bulgarian scored a sensational hat-trick at Old Trafford against United’s great rivals to spare his teammates a fierce post-match dressing down from the fiery Scot.
Instead of criticising his leaky defence, who could easily have cost United another two league points yesterday afternoon, Ferguson decided to let off some steam by castigating Liverpool striker Fernando Torres for play acting to win the free-kick which led to the visitors’ second goal.
"I've watched it," Ferguson said. "Definitely, Torres made a meal of it, an absolute meal of it. There's no doubt he tried to get the player sent off."
The Spain international appeared to be hauled to the ground by John O’Shea, who was the last man at the time. However, referee Howard Webb did not deem the incident to be a clear goalscoring opportunity, and only booked the Manchester United defender as a result.
Still, Ferguson was left incensed by the Spaniard’s alleged theatrics, particularly as it allowed Gerrard to smash the resulting free-kick through United’s suspect wall and past Edwin van der Sar.
It was no surprise that Roy Hodgson himself – an old friend of the Red Devils’ manager – was not on the receiving end of Ferguson’s wrath in the aftermath of United’s 3-2 victory, and instead of biting back, the former Fulham boss coolly played down the Scot’s angry comments about his star striker.
"Some of my coaches were jumping up and down but I didn't have a great view. Sir Alex was closer to it," Hodgson said.
"I thought the referee had a good game. Sir Alex is entitled to his opinion but I prefer to talk about things that interest me. I am not a fan of game saying."
Despite witnessing his defenders allow Liverpool to fight their way back into the match at 2-0 down, the United manager was still left happy with the winning result – and claimed that at one point double figures appeared a distinct possibility.
"From thinking to myself 'it's going to be 10', we ended up level at 2-2," said Ferguson after the final whistle.
"It was a travesty of a scoreline then but a great result at the end."
Fortunately, the heated comments directed towards Torres have largely been cast into Berbatov’s shadow following his finest performance since arriving at Old Trafford in 2008.
The former Tottenham striker became the first United player to score a hat-trick against Liverpool in 64 years – with one of the strikes, a stunning overhead kick, already in contention for the coveted goal of the season accolade.
The past two seasons haven’t been easy for Berbatov, who struggled to produce his best form on a consistent basis for the Red Devils up until the start of the current season, and now Ferguson’s persistence with the talented Bulgarian is beginning to pay back dividends.
"There was a lot of criticism of Berbatov last season from the media - it happens when we buy someone for a lot of money, that's the way of the world," commented Ferguson.
"But this season he has started off in the right fashion. He was good in pre-season and on tour and has carried it on. There has never been any doubt about the quality of the man."
Meanwhile, the man of the moment dedicated his hat-trick to his manager for keeping faith in him, and was humble even after producing a majestic performance against United’s old enemies.
"It was probably my best day in a United shirt," admitted Berbatov.
"I am happy. I am going home with a smile on my face but I am nothing special. I am going home to play with my kids."
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