BUILD A BONFIRE

THE OBSERVER

Manchester United have a Grand National of away fixtures coming up, with Real Madrid, Newcastle and Arsenal in the next couple of weeks, and much to their embarrassment Liverpool found themselves providing an innocuous first hurdle.

Sir Alex Ferguson's players cleared it comfortably, if not in any great style. Before the second-half goals that permitted a flattering margin, the home fans were growing restless at United's reluctance to break into a canter, but maybe that was the point of the exercise. 'The second half was fantastic for us. We played without running,' Ferguson said. 'We were able to win and still save something for Tuesday night.'

Ferguson decided to rest David Beckham and Nicky Butt after their exertions for England in midweek. He need not have bothered. The whole team got a rest when Liverpool self-destructed after just four minutes, giving away a penalty and going down to 10 men when Sami Hyypia pulled down Ruud van Nistelrooy in the act of scoring.

United set off at the briskest pace, Paul Scholes conjuring the first chance for Van Nistelrooy straight from the kick-off. The same combination caught Liverpool napping three minutes later, Scholes sliding a short pass forward into the area and Van Nistelrooy's speed on the turn forcing Hyypia to panic. Mike Riley correctly pointed to the spot and, as around 60,000 fans were reminding him that Hyypia was the last defender and ought to be dismissed, had little hesitation either in showing the red card. Van Nistelrooy thumped in his 33rd goal of the season from the spot as Hyypia was walking down the tunnel and Liverpool, at a stroke, had lost their centre-half, their captain and gone a goal down.

The visitors also had to scale down their ambition, with Houllier sacrificing the unlucky Milan Baros to send Igor Biscan into the middle of the defence. Baros started only because Michael Owen failed to recover from a back injury, and through no fault of his own he lasted just six minutes.

So did the contest. No strangers to playing defensively, Liverpool actually did rather well with 10 men, though the lucky break or set-piece situation Houllier was hoping for never materialised and Fabien Barthez did not have a save to make. United lost almost all their urgency once in the lead, merely going through the motions when going forward and looking as if they might let Liverpool back into the game through sheer boredom. They did have a goal disallowed before the interval, when the unwritten law that gives goalkeepers the benefit of the doubt in almost every contest came to Jerzy Dudek's rescue after a weak punch under pressure from Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown had gone straight to Mikael Silvestre. But United needed a second penalty in the 65th minute finally to kill the game.

Much as he would love to beat Real Madrid, Newcastle and Arsenal over the course of the most testing programme he has ever faced as Manchester United's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson always takes a particular delight in putting one over Liverpool. He has not had much practice lately – five of the previous six meetings having led to celebrations at the other end of the East Lancs Road – which made yesterday's comfortable success all the more satisfying.

Then came a bonus with Arsenal's dropped points at Villa Park sending United to Spain on Tuesday level on points with them.

Liverpool, already missing Stéphane Henchoz, had his regular defensive partner Sami Hyypia sent off after four minutes for the foul which brought the first of Ruud van Nistelrooy's two penalties. That was a little early for United to start easing up, even with so many daunting tasks to come over the next 19 days, and the grit shown by Liverpool's 10 men – the injured Michael Owen not among their number – induced a certain edginess among the crowd before Van Nistelrooy's second spot-kick. A rare Premiership goal at Old Trafford by Ryan Giggs and a late flourish from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer added up to the biggest home victory over Lancashire's other Reds for 50 years.

What was supposed to be the first of five daunting, season-defining fixtures for Manchester United turned out to be nothing of the sort.

This trial of strength between Lancashire's two major football tribes was ruined as a contest from the moment, only four minutes into the game, when referee Mike Riley sent off Sami Hyypia, the Liverpool captain, for pulling down Ruud van Nistelrooy in the penalty area.

Some, perhaps, may raise an eyebrow at the fact that yesterday's two penalties were the fifth and sixth Riley has awarded United at Old Trafford this season.

However, the Leeds official had little option in either case. The only criticism one could level at him is that the second decision looked harsher than the first, because the law says the player who concedes a penalty as the last defender, as Hyypia was, must go.

The trouble, as former Liverpool idol Ian St John pointed out on television, is that not all referees stick to the letter of that particular law. One example offered was the recent decision by Graham Poll to content himself with awarding a penalty against Tottenham's Gary Doherty for bringing down Bolton's Youri Djorkaeff in circumstances very similar to yesterday's.

THE TIMES

WHAT AN anticlimax. A heavyweight scrap that is traditionally among the highlights of any season was ended as a contest after just four minutes by football’s equivalent of double jeopardy, which saw Sami Hyypia concede a penalty and get sent off for the same transgression

Ruud van Nistelrooy, who had been brought down, got up to score from the spot, as he was to do again in the second half, and with latecomers still taking their seats, it was game over. Down to 10 men, Liverpool sent on Igor Biscan to replace Hyypia, withdrew Milan Baros, and in the absence of Michael Owen, injured, they were unable to test Fabien Barthez even once in the remaining 86 minutes. It was as tedious a 4-0 as most professional observers could remember. United and the home crowd loved it, of course. Not only had they displaced Arsenal, albeit temporarily, at the top of the table, this was their biggest victory over their greatest rivals for 50 years. But for the non-partisan, attracted by the titanic battles these famous old teams have had in the past, it was a non-event.

Who to blame? As far as the letter of the law is concerned, the referee, Mike Riley, acted perfectly correctly in banishing Hyypia. The Liverpool captain was the last defender when he pulled down Van Nistelrooy to deny him a clear goalscoring opportunity, and in such circumstances a red card is mandatory. Unfortunately, as we know, the law can sometimes be an ass, and those who make and administer it are at fault in denying officials a measure of discretion. There are times — and this was one of them — when a penalty is sufficient punishment. The paying public deserved more competitive fare than this, and would have had a better chance of getting it had it remained 11 versus 11.

Revenge for the Worthington Cup final? Ferguson saw it in a different light. "At the start of the season, if the choice had been the Worthington or six points against Liverpool in the League, I’d have taken the six points." United head for Madrid in good heart, but Real, in the Bernabeu on Tuesday, will be a different kettle of paella.

MATCH FACTS

Utd: Barthez, Gary Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Silvestre (O'Shea 66), Solskjaer, Keane, Phil Neville (Beckham 66), Giggs, Scholes (Butt 79), van Nistelrooy.

Subs Not Used: Ricardo, Forlan.
Booked: Silvestre.
Goals: van Nistelrooy 5 pen, 65 pen, Giggs 78, Solskjaer 90.

Liverpool: Dudek, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Riise, Diouf (Smicer 71), Hamann, Gerrard, Murphy (Cheyrou 80), Heskey, Baros (Biscan 6).
Subs Not Used: Arphexad, Mellor.
Sent Off: Hyypia (4).
Booked: Diouf, Murphy, Gerrard.

Att: 67,639
Ref: M Riley (W Yorkshire).