Barclays Premier League

The most awaited event of the weekend was always going to be the Red Devils entertaining Liverpool at Old Trafford and the match definitely didn’t fail to live up to its hype.

Dimitar Berbatov’s hat trick helped Manchester United beat its arch rivals Liverpool 3-2 in a pulsating contest. Although the victory gave United the three points they needed, but not before it gave Sir Alex Ferguson some jittery moments as they squandered a two goal advantage for the second consecutive week.

Rio Ferdinand was the surprise omission from United’s line up while Liverpool new signings Raul Merieles, Paul Konchesky and Christian Poulsen were all given a start. The game was short on fireworks until Berbatov headed in a Ryan Giggs’ corner to give United went into the break with the lead. On the other side of the break, Berbatov, who had a disappointing season last time around, displayed a flash of sheer genius as he controlled a cross from Nani as he set himself up for an overhead kick. The ball hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced in while Reina stood rooted to the spot. 2-0.

United seemed to have had the three points in their pocket and were cruising, until Johnny Evans, Ferdinand’s replacement, brought down Fernando Torres in the box. Penalty. Steven Gerrard stepped up and converted the spot kick. 2-1. Minutes later Torres was released clear and was heading for the goal as he was brought down just outside the box by O’Shea.  Cometh the hour, cometh the man. The Liverpool captain, Gerrard stepped up once again and drilled his free kick into the back of the net and Liverpool, just like their Merseyside rivals, Everton last week, came back from two goals down to level the scores. 2-2. Game on!

But this was destined to be Berbatov’s day. With six minutes to go, he rose up to head in an O’Shea cross for his first hat trick in a Manchester United jersey. United held on to the lead to secure their third win of the season and move up to third in the table behind Chelsea and Arsenal. Although they managed to accomplish the mission this, Ferguson and his boys know that they will need to tighten up their screws if they need to give the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal a run for their money in the quest for the Premiership.

By: Monish Menon

Tags: Arsenal, Chelsea, Dimitar Berbatov, Football, Liverpool, Manchester United, Premier League, Sports