Sir Alex Ferguson was indebted to the "genius" of Dimitar
Berbatov after the Bulgarian's brilliant hat-trick floored Liverpool
at Old Trafford.
Every single member of the United side had need to thank Berbatov
at the end after they had tossed away a two-goal advantage against
Merseyside opposition for the second weekend running, only for the
former Tottenham man to net the winner six minutes from time.
In some very perceptive programme notes, Ferguson suggested to
lose a winning position once was bad luck, twice is downright careless.
Now Liverpool can be added to Fulham and Everton as teams United
have thrown winning positions away against this season.
They were only spared the sight of Ferguson's fury because of Berbatov,
whose header denied Liverpool, who had levelled through Steven Gerrard's
double.
The other part of Ferguson's pre-match missive was the declaration
that "you must have faith and we are being rewarded this season
for our confidence in a player who has a touch of genius about him".
Genius was an apt word to describe Berbatov's contribution, in
particular the astonishing overhead kick that had put United two
ahead midway through the second-half of a slow burner of a game
that eventually turned into a classic.
Ferguson is not the only one in these parts who still feel this
is the biggest fixture of the Premier League calendar.
Chelsea, Arsenal and even Blackburn may have won the title since
Liverpool last did so in 1990. But with their 18 league championships
and five European Cups, they remain the most successful English
side, even if United have now joined them on the domestic front.
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