Roo beauty: Wayne Rooney proved to be the match winner
with a quickfire brace
MAN UNITED: De Gea, Rafael Da Silva,
Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Rooney,
Welbeck. Subs not used: Amos,
Berbatov, Park, Hernandez, Fabio Da Silva, Cleverley,
Pogba.:
Goals: Rooney 47, 50
Booked: Carrick
LIVERPOOL: Reina, Johnson, Skrtel,
Agger, Jose Enrique, Spearing (Carroll 61), Henderson, Kuyt (Adam
75), Gerrard, Downing (Bellamy 61), Suarez. Subs not used:
Doni, Carragher, Shelvey, Kelly.
Goals: Suarez 80
Booked: Downing
Referee: Phil Dowd
(Staffordshire)
Luis Suarez could not have done a better job of
helping United to a famous victory even if he had tried. The
Uruguayan made his first start following his eight-match ban for
racially abusing United's Patrice
Evra.
And he set the tone for a massive United performance by
refusing Evra's proffered handshake before kick-off.
If ever a gesture was designed to fire up Sir Alex
Ferguson's title-chasers for their most keenly contested fixture
then this, surely, was it.
And, of all the individuals Liverpool do not need to inspire to
greater deeds, Wayne Rooney is top of the list.
The England star was making his 500th appearance for club
and country, and to do so against United's biggest rivals was
incentive enough.
No player takes more abuse at Anfield than Rooney, who
first fielded the Liverpool fans' flak as a youngster playing
for Everton.
Rooney said in the build-up that this is 'the game you
never want to lose'.
The 25-year-old had scored 211 goals in those previous 499
games, but only two against Liverpool.
Ignore his post-match dismissal of Suarez's handshake
refusal, when he said: 'That's between the two individuals. We are
professionals and we have to do a job on the pitch.'
You can be sure Rooney's burning desire to improve his scoring
stats against the old enemy was only deepened by the snub to his
team-mate and captain.
And Liverpool felt the full force of Rooney's - and
United's - determination when he doubled his tally against them in
the space of three minutes shortly after the start of the second
half.
With two devastating strikes, Rooney took his goals record
from two to four in his 20th appearance against them.
Despite Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish's dismissal of
the suggestion that Suarez was culpable in any way, Ferguson was
equally adamant that Suarez's refusal to shake hands with Evra
'created a tension … I could not believe it,' said the United
manager.
Snub: Luis Suarez refused to shake hands with Patrice
Evra before the game
Ugly affair: The first half was largely uneventful in
terms of chances
Dalglish and the travelling fans could barely
believe it, either, as Rooney, rising to the occasion like a
colossus, first volleyed past Pepe Reina after Jordan Henderson
deflected a Ryan Giggs corner and then struck the lethal blow,
shooting under the keeper after Antonio Valencia robbed Jay
Spearing and played in the striker.
A nervous final few minutes ensued for United - but this
was always their day, from that fateful moment when Suarez made a
decision that seemed to baffle even his manager, who later inferred
that he expected his player to shake Evra's hand.
Despite his consolation goal - his first since December 10
- Suarez cut an increasingly forlorn figure, chasing shadows and
lost causes as Liverpool failed miserably to live up to the
standards of their recent Carling Cup and FA Cup victories
over Manchester City
and United.
In sharp contrast, Rooney, magnificently aided in his
efforts by strike partner Danny Welbeck and right-wing raider
Valencia, was rampant, revelling in his frequent opportunities to
run at the back-pedalling Liverpool defenders.
The Suarez-Evra issue clouded the whole affair but, when
football got into focus, it was United who provided the great
majority of it.
Angst: Referee Phil Dowd had to step in as the two
teams made their way off at the break
Blasted: Rooney gave the game its spark with a
thunderous volley in the second half
The ageless Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, supported
by 30-year-old Carrick - a combined age here of 105 - ran the show
in midfield and 33-year-old Rio Ferdinand, bad back and all,
smothered Suarez's bid for a triumphant return to 90-minute
action.
Glen Johnson curled a shot a yard wide in the 10th minute
but that was a false dawn for Liverpool who looked increasingly
unlikely to check United's charge towards what they hope will be a
20th league title.
Scholes - will the little master be able to refuse the
chance to play on for another season after enjoying days such as
this? - could not believe he failed to put United in front when,
after orchestrating the move, he got his head to a Giggs cross,
only to see Reina make a superb reflex save.
But Reina merely delayed the inevitable. In the explosive
first few minutes of the second half Rooney stamped his class,
authority and utter sense of mission on the proceedings.
And there was no way back for Liverpool, who have now won
only once on their last eight visits to Old Trafford.
Double trouble: Moments later Rooney slotted home from
Antonio Valencia's pass
Too little, too late: Suarez gave his side some hope
with a smart strike late on
United, top of the league - if only for 24 hours
before City play today - should have put the issue beyond all doubt
before David de Gea took off to tip over Johnson's screamer in
added time.
Rooney fluffed his chance of a hat-trick when he miscued
after being put through by a Scholes dummy to Valencia's pass, and
Welbeck might have got the goal his display deserved when Scholes
sent him racing into the left of the box.
The youngster blazed into the Stretford End. But the
lasting impression was of a day of glory and justification for
United and one of utter dismay for sorry Liverpool.
