Liverpool petulance makes victory even sweeter

Revenge was definitely on the minds of Man United fans when Liverpool came to town on Sunday.

With three defeats on the spin against their bitter north-west rivals, including that humiliating 4-1 home loss last March, United supporters felt they were due a win against Rafa Benitez's men.

Not that local pride was the only thing to play for. With Arsenal gathering a head of steam and Chelsea still in the hunt for the title it was vital United grabbed all three points in what was one of their tougher fixtures in the run-in.

The win was duly achieved, but what made it all the more satisfying for United fans was the reaction of Liverpool to the result.

First off Rafa Benitez again chose to blame everybody but himself for the defeat, claiming Valencia dived for the penalty which turned the game.

Quite how anyone who has Steven Gerrard in the team can accuse the opposition of diving I don't know, but the truth is Mascherano was pulling Valencia's shirt. The incident did start outside the area, but the rules state if the foul moves into the area then it's a penalty. Simple.
What Benitez also forgot to point out was Mascherano only received a yellow card, despite Valencia being clean through on goal. He should get the facts straight before he starts making excuses.

Another act of petulance came from Fernando Torres. The Spanish striker is a wonderful payer but too often acts like a spoilt child when things don't go his way. His scuffing of the penalty spot before Rooney could place the ball was a prime example of this, a sign United had got to him. Spain's World Cup betting odds make them favourites for this year's tournament, but they might struggle if Torres spits his dummy in a similar fashion.

Domestically though, Liverpool's remarkable ability to escape FA punishment manifested itself once more when it was revealed referee Howard Webb would have booked Torres if he had seen the incident, but the FA are unable to take retrospective action on the matter. That makes it three incidents in three weeks that Liverpool have got away with.

However karma was well in truly in action in the second half when Torres mishit a shot that bobbled in the exact spot he had scuffed up in the first period. What goes around comes around Fernando.

That left Liverpool licking their wounds once more, languishing back in sixth, while United, beating Liverpool for the first time in four, march on and the football odds now make the Red Devils strong favourites to win the title.