THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY - ROONEY BAITS KOP AS KEANE CLOSES TRAP
It was supposed to be all about Fernando from Caceres not Wayne from Croxteth, and even in the dreams of that young lad on a council estate those few years ago, his first goal against Liverpool had been different to this. Rooney's shirt had always been blue - nothing but blue - in never, never land.
Everything else was perfect, however, about the winner that kept United at least within binocular-vision of Chelsea. The way in which he picked up the ball in midfield with Anfield at its raucous best, cheering their team's early ascendancy to the high heavens. The way he reacted with unfathomable speed to spot the opportunity and drill it with that £27m right foot, low across the ground from fully 30 yards. The way it skidded on its unerring course before creeping under the despairing right hand of the hapless Liverpool goalkeeper. And most definitely the way Anfield was silenced as if someone had yanked the plug out.
There the dream probably ended, although Rooney probably guessed what he'd do next. He ran to the Kop put his hands to ears and remained there long after his team-mates had thought better of it, punching the air, jutting out that distinctive chin, the look on his screwed-up face saying "there, that's from me and my mates". The electricity was well and truly back on, with the Kop going wild. Insults rained down. Coins, lighters, and even a mobile phone, soon followed. Friendly Scouse banter it was not, and there may well be ramifications when the Football Association's inundated disciplinary panel gets to this particular videotape.
He will certainly have the backing of Sir Alex Ferguson, who was just as supportive of his teenaged striker as you'd expect him to be when asked whether he'd been wise to run to the Kop. "Well, that's the end he scored at, wasn't it?" the United manager said. "Where was he supposed to run?" Off the end of the world for all Liverpool cared, but then when you've just lost your third successive League match at home to those other Reds from up the M62, graciousness in defeat is not uppermost in your minds.
While Rooney grabbed the headlines, however, Roy Keane grabbed everything else. From the moment the 19-year-old gave United the initiative their early industry barely deserved after 21 minutes, the 33-year-old stamped his foot on the controls and steered United home. This included 26 minutes when the visitors were forced to play with 10 men after Wes Brown's dismissal.
THE SUNDAY TIMES - DUDEK HANDS UNITED VICTORY (AGAIN)
There was much to learn at Anfield yesterday, even if the lessons covered subjects we were already familiar with. United are a team; organised, experienced and blessed with an inspirational skipper in Roy Keane. They claimed these three points through graft and guile and, in truth, without too much bother. The story concerning Liverpool is very different.
They started yesterday with two debutants: the centre-back Mauricio Pellegrino and forward Fernando Morientes, and though the team played with energy, it was mostly wasted. It wasn’t that Liverpool weren’t good enough; rather, that they weren’t nearly good enough.
Roy Carroll, for whom it might have been a difficult afternoon after that Spurs goal, blocked a shot from Jamie Carragher in the 92nd minute. It was the first time he was stretched in the entire match.
Think of that "This Is Anfield" sign that hangs in the tunnel and wonder how things have come to such a pass. Agitation now seeps from every seat in the old stadium. A Liverpool player makes a mistake and someone sitting near you damns him to hell. They don’t believe things are going to get better at Anfield and, alas, there was nothing yesterday to suggest otherwise.
For Liverpool reds, the most depressing part of the afternoon were the final 25 minutes when Wes Brown’s dismissal reduced United to 10 men, yet only served to accentuate the gap between the teams.
United regrouped. John O’Shea replaced Cristiano Ronaldo and moved comfortably into Brown’s place. The team retreated into its own half and tightened its grip on the game.
United could do that because they passed the ball better than their rivals. Their five-man midfield was simply too much for Liverpool’s four.
Neither was the advantage merely numerical. Roy Keane and Paul Scholes were much better than Steven Gerrard and Dietmar Hamann, and then Ronaldo, Darren Fletcher, Louis Saha and Wayne Rooney all had their moments. Rooney, of course, is the perfect example of a player who does not need to be central to a match to suddenly become its central figure. Throughout the opening 20 minutes yesterday, he was a peripheral figure, playing wide on the left. The Liverpool crowd was taunting him relentlessly. What 19-year-old could remain unaffected? Then Gerrard fouled Fletcher and Liverpool’s concentration wavered for a few seconds. That was all it took. United moved the ball left to Ronaldo, who passed inside to Rooney. He was 35 yards from goal and not in a particularly dangerous position, but he took two quick touches and, just as you thought he might shoot, the ball was whizzing towards Jerzy Dudek.
The shot was well struck, but close to Dudek, who was slow to react and couldn’t get his body behind the ball. "I had a good view of it," said the goalkeeper afterwards. "I don’t know what happened."
Two seasons ago, Dudek conceded two bad goals in a game against United at Anfield. Before that game, he had been outstanding. Since then, he has not been the same. Yesterday’s goal was his mistake but the speed with which Rooney dispatches his shots will catch out more goalkeepers than Dudek.
After scoring, the Liverpudlian raced towards the fans closest to him, who happened to be at Anfield’s Kop End. Rooney then put his hands to his ears by way of asking the fans if they still considered him "a fat b*****d". Some will complain about the teenager’s provocative behaviour, but he had been goaded mercilessly.
THE OBSERVER - DUDEK FUMBLE HANDS IT TO 10-MAN REDS
The anticipated debut goal from Fernando Morientes failed to appear, so the game was settled by a more traditional staple of north-west derbies, the Jerzy Dudek howler.
Liverpool's new £6.3 million acquisition scored in his first games for Albacete, Zaragoza, Real Madrid, Monaco and Spain but never got a look-in here, even when a resilient Manchester United team went down to 10 men. The unfortunate Dudek now has a far less desirable record of five consecutive mistakes against the same opponents and this latest gaffe, from a speculative shot by Wayne Rooney, allowed United an unprecedented third successive win at Anfield.
Morientes has long said that he admires English football, but after seeing it at close quarters, he must be wondering if it is always so aggressive. The striker was taken off 15 minutes before the end claiming exhaustion, although it could just as well have been shock. 'Fernando needs to get match fit and he said he was very tired when he came off, but he now knows what it takes to play in the Premiership,' Benítez said.
United have known that for years and nine wins in their past 11 games suggest that they are back to something like their best. They bristled with attitude here and, even without Rio Ferdinand, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ryan Giggs, caused Liverpool problems from the outset. Controlling the ball well and waiting for openings, United could have taken the lead in the seventh minute but for astute defending by Sami Hyypia preventing Louis Saha reaching Phil Neville's dangerous cross.
Morientes had three chances in the first half, two from corners and one he created himself with a clever turn that took him past Brown. His shot ended up in the Anfield Road end, however, and by that time United were ahead thanks to a singular piece of finishing by Rooney.
The former Everton player had been in the game so little by the 21st minute that the Kop were still waiting for a decent opportunity to boo him when he took a return pass from Cristiano Ronaldo on the left wing, cut inside and beat Dudek from 25 yards. There was little backlift for the crisply struck shot, but having seen it all the way and got into position to make a save, Dudek had little excuse for allowing the ball through his arms and into the net.
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH - KEANE PULLS THE STRINGS
When the teams came out, Roy Keane appeared to have forgotten the obligatory handshaking ceremony and ran alone across the pitch, applauding the Manchester United fans all the way. He realised his error and sheepishly joined his amused colleagues - and not until the 88th minute, when he was shown the yellow card for scything down the substitute Igor Biscan, did Keane make another false move.
With Paul Scholes and Darren Fletcher, who deserved to share man-of-the-match honours with their captain, he gave Manchester United control. He might, indeed, have given them a two-goal lead within half an hour, a crafty lob dipping on to the crossbar. It was, all in all, a wonderfully sharp and intelligent display by the 33-year-old Irishman, one that mocked suggestions he might be eclipsed by his counterpart and junior by nine years; although Steven Gerrard strove, as ever, to lead by example, he will take a long time to acquire Keane's nous.
In this context, Liverpool badly missed the injured Xabi Alonso, who allows Gerrard to get forward and hurt defences. They also suffered for a shortage of resources that prevented Rafa Benitez from matching Sir Alex Ferguson's 4-5-1; there was always a marked imbalance in the midfield, at least until the dismissal of Wes Brown for a second cautionable offence midway through the second half encouraged Liverpool to attack with some conviction, to which United responded with a mixture of ever greater effort and tactical. But the most obvious contributor to Liverpool's downfall was their own goalkeeper.
To hand United victory here once might be described as misfortune. To do it twice might smack of carelessness. To blunder on a third occasion is practically a transfer request and Jerzy Dudek, though the unfitness of Chris Kirkland left Benitez with little choice but to take a forgiving posture, cannot be long for this club after adding Wayne Rooney to a list of beneficiaries previously comprised of Diego Forlan, who scored two seasons ago, and Ryan Giggs, the match-winner last season. Dudek's distinguished career has taken a sad turn. What the Pole would have given for a touch of the luck the watching Roy Carroll enjoyed at Old Trafford the other day.