Berbatov made a quiet debut as United tasted defeat at Anfield.
After donning a white shirt and witnessing a lacklustre team performance Berbatov would have been forgiven for thinking he was still at Spurs.
United did however make a thundering start as Tevez put them ahead after just three minutes thanks to Mascherano’s short attention span and a great assist from new signing Berbatov. United were decent up until the break but failed to turn up in the second half – they looked very ordinary where as Liverpool improved. After a messy mistake from Van Der Sar the ball hit Wes Brown and Liverpool were level thanks to the own goal. With 13 minutes to go Babel sidefooted the Reds in to the lead after good work from Kuyt and Mascherano to keep the ball in play.
Liverpool fans will now claim that they are on for the title as they currently reside at the top of the table – but they must be reminded that it is however only September.
To add to the disappointment of losing, Carrick was replaced at half time and was later seen sporting a pressure boot whilst Vidic saw red after a duo of clumsy challenges – which means the Serbian centre back will miss next week’s battle of Stamford Bridge.
Berbatov did not make the instant impact that he, and the United faithful, would have hoped for but he did put in a decent performance with some good play. It is likely that he will make his Home and European United debuts against Villarreal on Wednesday in which we hope he will announce himself as the player we all know he can be.
However there are some positives to take from the game, with the returns of Nani, Hargreaves and Giggs, SAF has a near full squad to select from and we got our first look at the formidable front line of Carlos, Wayne and Dimi – however this is likely to work better when Mr Ronaldo returns to relieve Rooney of right sided duties – and if reports are to be believed he could make his comeback as early as midweek.
United will need to move up a gear against Villarreal and Chelsea next week – the addition of D.B. 9 may yet provide the drive to spark their season in to life.
Toby Bowen
