Man Utd 3-2 Liverpool, Premier League: Top 10 Photos – Berbatov Scores Immense Hat-Trick

Ollie Irish

20th, September 2010

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By Ollie Irish

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Liverpool's Steven Gerrard scores his side's first goal of the game from the penalty spot

Photos: PA

Hi folks – you well? I’m back after a long weekend away in Cork for a friend’s wedding, during which time I consumed too much Guinness and sneaked into a pub to watch Sunday’s big game – the All-Ireland football final, in which Cork overcame a dismal first-half display to roar back and beat Down by the narrowest of margins. Up the Rebels!

Anyway, I digress a little… before that I watched Manchester United beat Liverpool, or rather I watched Dimitar Berbatov beat Liverpool. Berba has really come of age in a United shirt now – at this rate he must be judged as their No.1 striker, especially as Wayne Rooney is more versatile and therefore liable to be moved around into whatever round hole is going spare (Wazza finished Sunday’s game on the left wing, specifically in the corner wasting time and wasting it rather well too).

The Bulgarian’s hat-trick was very special, with a stunning overhead kick the jewel in between two expertly taken headers. Is it too far-fetched to suggest that the Theatre of Dreams just found a new Cantona? Yeah, almost certainly, but there’s no doubt that Berba has the X Factor that Rooney plainly lacks.

Liverpool fans should not kid themselves either – their team deserved to lose and were rather lucky to lose by only one goal. United thumped them for 80 minutes but couldn’t take their chances, whilst Liverpool simply capitalised on a purple patch. Again, I have to feel a little sorry for Steven Gerrard, who is just a class above most of his team-mates; it can’t be any fun trying to play a one-two with Paul Konchesky, for example.