Not What I Had Hoped for on So Many Levels: Liverpool 1 - Man U 2

Unfortunately a decent game of football is going to be forever overshadowed by a bunch of crap acts by two sets of players. I will discuss it briefly, but I don't want to lose sight of the fact that there actually was a game of football played. I loathe to admit it, but United were fully deserving of their three points. Liverpool opened the game brightly, but quickly faded and we were left with this final scoreline.

Come on Suarez! Why did you have to go and do that? As bitter of a pill as it would have been to swallow, just shake his hand and let's get on with life. Instead, I now have to sit here and talk about how two players pretty much acted like idiotic children. To me it was classless for Luis to do what he did. I understand where he was coming from and he was well within his rights to do it, but I still don't like it. He still believes he did nothing wrong and harbors a lot of bitterness towards Evra for everything that has happened to him. I understand why you wouldn't want to shake his hand. However, for the good of your team and the good of the league, you needed to just suck it up and do it. Evra initially tried to take the high road and force the handshake which was rebuffed. Rio Ferdinand then said no thanks to Suarez and then we were off on a feisty affair.

Liverpool started brightly. Suarez was almost sent through within the first minute as Ferdinand and Evra collided, but Gerrard uncharacteristically misplayed the pass. Liverpool did well to turn the screw with Johnson coming close right after cutting in on his left foot and nearly curling it into the corner with his left foot. However, Liverpool seemed to fade quickly after the first 15 minutes and United began to apply a little pressure, especially as Valencia ran Enrique ragged. Pepe was called into action a couple of times, most notably on a free Scholes header. Luckily the old ginger could only put it straight at Reina who did well to fight it off.

At halftime it was 0-0, but the fire had been lit. I don't know exactly what happened, but at some point Evra tried to talk to Suarez in the tunnel at halftime. This led to a scuffle which ultimately had to be broken up by police. We don't know all the details, but there are rumors that Evra actually tried to follow Suarez into the dressing room.

The second half was a tough watch for Liverpool fans. Shortly into the half on a United corner, a misplaced Henderson flick fell right to Rooney who made no mistake, blasting it on the volley into Reina's net. Three minutes later, I was fighting back the vomit as a misplaced pass from Spearing resulted in Rooney slotting the ball through Reina's legs. Liverpool were slow and sloppy, like a new porn star, and United fully deserved their lead.

However, the match became a bit more interesting (for football reasons this time) as Suarez latched onto a ball that had bounced off a United defender in the box from Charlie Adam's free kick. He left deGea with no chance as he blasted it home from 4 yards away. However, it wasn't meant to be. Liverpool had a few chances towards the end with Johnson forcing a good save from deGea who tipped his shot over the bar, but it wasn't meant to be.

Now I have to talk about the third crappy incident. After the game Evra was fired up and happy. I can't blame him. He took to running around Old Trafford getting the crowd pumped up about the victory. I have absolutely no problem with all of that. However, he felt it necessary to run right in front of Suarez and do it two feet away from him as Suarez was nearing the tunnel. Pepe and others obviously took exception to this and a small scuffle ensued. Evra had tried to take the high road initially with the handshake, but he quickly found himself rolling around in Suarez muck. Both players acted poorly and have now soured this game. I am sure that the Liverpool ownership cannot be thrilled with the way this has gone down at all and the light that the club has been painted in.

Bullets:

-Evra and Suarez were both out of line. It was childish and ridiculous.

-Downing was just horrible. This was really his first really bad game where he started on the left. He just seemed on a completely different planet than everyone else.

-At least Chelsea are dropping points too.

-Suarez scored, so that is good for the confidence, even if it was a gimme.

-Adam looked decent off the bench and finally delivered a quality set piece. I can't remember the last time that happened.

-Carroll had a few decent touches, but my God I wish he would stay on his feet and fight.

-This is no way as bad a result as some of our other crap games. Getting a point at Old Trafford is never easy.

-Time to move on a look forward. We don't have to play United again this year so we won't have the 4 weeks of media hype for the rest of our games either.

-For post match reaction from The Busby Babe, follow this link. If you go over there, represent our blog and Liverpool fans well. You can share your opinions and there is good debate over there right now, but don't be a jackass please.