Reactions to United’s Victory Over Childish Pool

Well, it’s unfortunate that 90 minutes of excellent Red Devil football will be overshadowed by antics and theatrics before, at half, and after the match – this, our first talking point.

Beforehand, you knew the pantomime villain would be Suarez, without question at Old Trafford, much like Evra at Anfield in weeks prior. You absolutely anticipated that United supporters would give abuse right on queue singing “We know what you are” at the little number seven.

What we didn’t know is that Suarez’ petulance would start before kickoff, as he refused to shake Evra’s hand.

Really? How incredibly stupid are you?

All you had to do is shake hands, not get sent off, and this chapter would be behind you. Now, you’re back on the FA’s radar, and since you’re the only forward that can score for Liverpool, you threaten your club’s chances at holding the seventh spot.

Afterwards, the drama, predictably, continued in the media.

First, an incredulous Sir Alex winds things up:

"I could not believe it, I just could not believe it. He's a disgrace to Liverpool Football Club, that certain player should not be allowed to play for Liverpool again.

“The history that club's got and he does that and in a situation like today could have caused a riot. I was really disappointed in that guy, it was terrible what he did.”

"It created a tension, you've seen the referee didn't know what to do about it. It caught him off guard. It was a terrible start to the game, a terrible atmosphere it created."

Next up, the comical Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish responded: "I think you're bang out of order to blame Luis Suarez for anything that happened here today."

Really? What color is the sky in your world, Cliff? (As in Cliff Clavin from “Cheers”, for the sit-com challenged.)

What’s next, K-k-ken? Are you going to tell us “It's a little known fact that the tan became popular in what is known as the Bronze Age”?

Please.

What we do know is THE feud continues, with Suarez, and Evra, thanks to excessive celebrating, face some possible disciplinary action.

Ah, let’s rest the obvious talking point and return to the REAL stuff: the play on the pitch.

Rarely in this blog do I ever compliment a referee, but today’s one of those days. Phil Dowd did a brilliant job of keeping his cards in his pocket and keeping composure, choosing to talk to players and slow the match at appropriate spots to clam matters.

Once again, we could have witnessed an entirely different result had Dowd gotten wrong Ferdinand’s tackle on Suarez. It’s either clean or a red-card-foul. Rio got it right, an immaculate tackle, but we all know what happened on this ground before – dare I say against a certain match against the barcodes. We do not take proper calls for granted, with the speed of these matches.

It’s no coincidence, then, that things boiled over outside of match minutes but remained relatively restrained within the confines of this massive derby match.

Well done, Dowd.

Next, United’s defence deserves accolades, but still, that unease continues to linger on, after conceding in the 80th minute off another mistake from nothing.

The score did not reflect the run of play and excellent job of defending done by all, and in particular, the two center halves, Rio and Evans, both of whom took turns marking Suarez tightly even when he tracked back for the ball, and later, manned up impressively against both forwards.

Ultimately, though, United faced a nervy final ten minutes after conceding a goal off a set-piece mistake. Once again, this side bossed large stretches of the match and one mistake brought another beaten side back into a match.

It’s one thing to get beaten by excellent play; it’s another to gift goals off mistakes. United’s nervy knees continue to reappear amidst good overall play. This trend is definitely not over, not by a long shot.

Moving on, once again Valencia proved lethal in attacking an opponent, as his white-hot form continues.

So good is Antonio that Fergie confidently placed Giggs wide-left, knowing that the evergreen winger wouldn’t always cover the touch line and would track central much of the afternoon – making it abundantly clear United would focus on the right.

But, it didn’t matter.

Valencia beat Enrique frequently one-to-one, as Liverpool learned quickly to double-team every time Antonio got the ball. Valencia made Stuart Downing look pedestrian, as the number nineteen clearly didn’t feel like defending that deep, that often, which muted his threat going forward for Pool.

It’s another brilliant job by United’s number twenty-five in his attempt at a second consecutive Player of the Month campaign.

And finally, my Man of the Match, Wayne Rooney, who had only scored two goals from nineteen previous matches against his archenemy prior to kickoff, doubled his total in less than 45 minutes of football.

Wazza was brilliant in the hole, as he converted two of three guilt-edged chances, adding the clinical edge for United. Surprisingly, his easiest chance caught him off-guard – so good was Scholes’ dummy that Roo’s first touch was equally as poor as his toe-poke wide from close range. Should have been a hattrick, really, but regardless, he’s finally broken his own personal duck of sorts against the wrong half of Merseyside.

When Fergie wondered out loud how United lost to Liverpool in the FA Cup, the obvious answer was a lack of a finishing touch, with Wazza missing of course. Clearly Rooney’s brings the necessary sharpness to United’s chances around goal.

Mark my words: Rooney looks poised to return to his blistering form, much like what we witnessed prior to last year, especially with the return of a healthy Tom Cleverley, who’s apparently built a telekinetic connection with Welbeck on the training ground these past few weeks.

We all remember Cleverley turning the corner on his mark, making quick-and-decisive touch passes to open up opponents. He’s exactly the type of dimension United need in the center of the park, which also provides the gaffer with a bonus opportunity to rest Giggs and Scholes more with a crowded fixture list ahead.

Thus, as we move on, we know the drama will continue between these clubs, with Dalglish, claiming to have seen “nuth-ing, nuutthhh-ing!!!” in his best Sargent Schultz impression.

Certainly, the FA did see something, while we all await their verdict.