Send him off! Torres wants Howard Webb to show
O'Shea a red card
Sir Alex Ferguson accused Liverpool striker Fernando
Torres of cheating as Manchester United beat their greatest rivals
3-2 at Old Trafford yesterday.
A superb Dimitar Berbatov hat-trick — the first by a United
player against Liverpool for 64 years — ensured Ferguson’s team
stayed in touch with Chelsea at the top of the table.
But Torres found himself charged by Fergie of trying to get
United defender John O’Shea sent off in the incident that led to
Steven Gerrard converting a free-kick to make the score 2-2 in the
second half.
Despite the fact O’Shea could easily have been sent off
after hauling down Torres, Ferguson said: ‘I have watched it again.
Fernando Torres made a meal of it.
'An absolute meal of it. There is no doubt he tried to get the
player sent off.’
Roy Hodgson, the Liverpool manager — whose side have won just
once in their first five league games — refused to be drawn on the
matter, suggesting he hadn’t had a clear view of the incident.
He said: ‘Some of my coaches were jumping up and down but I
didn’t have a great view. Sir Alex was closer to it.
'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.’
Pointing the finger: Sir Alex Ferguson thinks Torres
tried to get O'Shea sent off
But Ferguson took another swipe at Liverpool, suggesting
his team should have won by more goals.
Having led 2- 0, United were pegged back by two Gerrard strikes
and looked like surrendering a winning margin for the third time
this season before Berbatov headed home his third in the 84th
minute.
The United boss said: ‘It was a game we absolutely dominated and
I was saying to myself: “It could’ve been 10”.
'So when it looked like ending 2-2, it would have been a
travesty of a scoreline, but it was a great result at the end.
‘They had the momentum when it went to 2-2, but they never
offered anything did they?
Cheers, Berba! Manchester United star Dimitar
Berbatov is congratulated by Rooney
‘This was always going to be a test. The build-up to
these games is such that, if one doesn’t win, it’s a catastrophe.
For Liverpool, this is a catastrophe.’
Hodgson disagreed with Ferguson’s assessment.
He said: ‘I think that’s harsh. I thought United played well but
to try and undermine our performance is harsh. Our performance was
a lot better than our last two performances and I think we can take
credit for the way we played in the second half.
A penalty call that didn't came after the ball struck
Carragher's hand.
'Catastrophe? I am not sure about that. I have said all
along that our aim is to get in the top four. That is our
aim.’
Berbatov said: ‘It was a magical day. It was special for me to
score a hat-trick against our greatest rivals. But when I go home,
to my kids, I am not that special.’
