United Cry Foul At Lost Points

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Manchester United went top of the Barclays Premier League lastnight but did so on goal difference after a controversial Lee Bowyer equaliser earned Birmingham an unlikely point.
 
United will feel should lead England's elite outright after Bowyer's goal appeared to follow directly from at least 2 infringements.
 
United had looked set to regain top spot after Dimitar Berbatov fired United to a 1-0 lead towards the hour mark. The Bulgarian was moments later denied only by a post when his shot clipped the wrong side of the upright.
 
Birmingham's dogged resilience in defence ensured that United were frustrated around goal and as a result Sir Alex Ferguson's side did not capatalise on their dominance of possession. Anderson, arguably in the form of his United career, carried much less threat than has recently been discerned, his passes not managing to forge a path infront of the strikers.
 
Neither goalkeeper needed to be at their best although an outstanding outstretched arm from Ben Foster did deny Ryan Giggs a goal when the Welshman miscued a right footed cross.
 
Giggs later hit the target, and may have been lucky to escpae punishment, with a flying tackle into Bowyer. This coming after the Birmingham midfielder crunched a late, ankle-high tackle on Darron Gibson.
 
The away side emerged from the tunnel at half time and instantly sought to correct their first half inaccuracy and defficiency. Berbatov's goal came during a spell of sustained pressure from United.
 
The striker nonchalantly plucked the ball out of the air and into Gibson's feet in one seemless motion. Gibson intuitively drove towards the Birmingham defence before shifting the ball back to Berbatov who struck past Foster who was beaten low and at his near post.
 
That the ball seemed to get stuck under Berbatov made the ensuing venomous shot all the more clinical. The league's top scorer was denied from making it 2-0 by the outside of the right post following a effective, if uncharacteritic, run at the defence.
 
United though, as has been the case away from Old Trafford this season, were not home and dry and failed to consilidate the three points.
 
Nikola Zigic, who at 6' 7" dwarved Rio Ferdinand, replaced Jean Beausejour and the Blue's looked to pump the ball towards their Serbian target man.  
 
One such loft was met by Zigic who clearly impeded Ferdinand's jumping ability by leaning with both arms. One of those limbs was then responsible for pushing the ball into the path of Bowyer who slid in to volley home.   

Manchester United 3-2 Liverpool: Match Report

He scored a goal at the opposite end to that of a memorable chip and his collar was flapping about rather than turned-up, but yesterday Old Trafford finally accepted a legend incarnate.

Dimitar Berbatov, after two seasons of trying to win the hearts of Manchester United fans, became only the second player in over 60 years to score a hat trick against arch rivals Liverpool. One of his goals, of Cantona-esque showmanship, will live long in the memory of those in the Stretford End.

His Liverpool counterpart, Fernando Torres, so often a tormentor of United’s backline, was eclipsed by the Bulgarian. Torres was starved of any supplies from a midfield who for large parts of the match were more concerned with retaining possession than carving open United as they had done so emphatically 18 months earlier at the same ground.

Berbatov gave United the lead, scoring his seventh goal of the season, as half time approached. Ryan Giggs swung in a corner which was met by United’s No.9 guiding header into the corner. His marker, Liverpool’s own No.9, Torres, was caught the wrong side of Berbatov who found the left corner past Pepe Reina.

His next evoked memories of the King himself. Nani, proving to be a constant threat to Paul Konchesky, crossed the ball Berbatov who, after Rooney made no contact, deftly controlled the ball with his thigh and unleashed an overhead kick which bounced off of the cross bar and into the net. Old Trafford erupted having temporarily frozen in anticipation. Or was that admiration?

The match should have been beyond Liverpool, Ferguson later acknowledging it may have turned into a “cricket score”. Nani rendered Reina a bystander with a shot that propelled against the post, adding to this earlier blundered effort. Rooney was similarly immobile when Nani sought out the striker with a teasing ball across the six yard box.

Hodgson though deployed Gerard and Raul Meireles further upfield to assistant an isolated Torres. The decision paid dividends and sparked a comeback United have become accustomed to over the past three weeks.

Joe Cole, guilty of playing ineffective passes throughout the first half, pushed a perfectly weighted ball into the path of Torres who was bought down cynically by Johnny Evans. It was the first time Torres was given the opportunity to get beyond Evans or Nemanja Vidic and the Merseysiders would rue not doing so earlier. Gerard confidently struck the ensuing penalty into the right corner, sending Edwin Van Der Sar the opposite way.

It was Torres again who played a decisive role in Liverpool’s equaliser, falling under John O’Shea’s senseless tug. Howard Webb, undertaking his second match since the World Cup final, deemed O’Shea infringement worthy of a yellow card, much to the vocalised disbelief of Torres.

Ferguson branded the striker a ‘cheat’, saying the Spaniard had tried to remove the Ireland defender from proceedings. Replays showed Torres would have been lucky to reach Meireles’ pass before Van Der Sar. It was Gerard again who converted the set-piece, benefiting from a gap in the United wall and embarking on what seems a customary celebration involving a kiss and a camera.

Ferguson’s men were staring a wasted opportunity for the third consecutive Premier League match and Liverpool the most unlikely of points. Perhaps it was inevitable then that Berbatov, a figure of much derision for so long, would score the winner, his hat trick, in the “daddy of derbies” as Ferguson refers to this fixture.

The goal encapsulated the resurgence of United’s record signing. When John O’Shea swept a diagonal ball towards the penalty spot the Bulgarian out-jumped Jamie Carragher, generating enough power in the header for Reina to stand and observe.

He may not have puffed out his chest but Old Trafford lavished their new hero: “Ooh Aah Dimitar”, they sung.