Phil Dowd escorts Evra away from Pepe Reina post-match. (GETTY IMAGES)Generally these two big rivals don't need any help rekindling their rivalry, but they indeed got extra fuel for the fire Saturday morning. I don't really need to rehash the Suarez vs. Evra thing leading up to the match. Suffice it to say Suarez acted like a racist fool, got caught, and got penalized. Still, the footballing media isn't about to forget about it, especially when it came time for Evra and Suarez to shake hands prior to this match. You've probably seen the video. Evra offers his hand. and Suarez acts like a two year old and walks by. Evra then makes it worse by trying to grab Suarez, who shrugs him off, causing Rio Ferdinand to then refuse the handshake of Suarez.
After that little charade, we finally got to the match. In truth, the match wasn't that great, and small wonder that it later got eclipsed by everything surrounding it. Fireworks almost flew early as Evra flew in on Suarez with a meaty challenge, but ended up bashing into Ferdinand instead. A few minutes after that Glen Johnson beat Evra and sent a shot in on the United goal, but it went wide. It was to be Liverpool's only chance for quite some time.
Manchester United took firm hold of the match, even though they failed to score in the first half. They set up a few good chances but weren't able to capitalize. Ryan Giggs set up Scholes once with a cross, but Pepe Reina easily saved the header to keep the score 0-0 going into the half.
Then more fireworks happened. Ferdinand sent Suarez to the ground with a legal tackle just before the half, but Suarez and Liverpool thought differently. Suarez then again channeled his inner two year old and slap kicked the ball away. His teammates rounded him up quickly and urged toward the tunnel. Unfortunately, Patrice Evra doesn't know how to let things go either, and he apparently tried to get into Suarez's face in the tunnel, resulting in a spat between both teams that required the local police to sort out.
Once back on the field, Liverpool continued in their general malaise, but United came out on fire, particularly Wayne Rooney. Rooney has never had a ton of luck against Liverpool, but he made them pay the price in this match. In the 47th minute, Giggs sent in a corner that fell to Rooney on the far post. He slammed it into the back of the net to give United the 1-0 lead. Then just three minutes later, Jay Spearing lost the ball to Valencia right outside of his own 18. Valencia scooted the ball over to Rooney, who once again scored a goal to give United the 2-0 lead. It was turning into an all around nightmare for Liverpool.
With about ten minutes left Liverpool finally got a lucky break and got into the match. Charlie Adam sent in a free kick that bounded off of Rio Ferdinand and came to Suarez, who capitalized on his fortune by beating David De Gea and making it 2-1. Obviously this didn't sit well with the United players or supporters. Liverpool attacked more throughout the final 10 minutes but really couldn't muster anything, and United held on for the 2-1 win.
More controversy flared after the match as Patrice Evra went all over the pitch in a kind of stupid looking victory dance. At one point he placed his celebration right in front of Suarez, who gamely kept walking. His teammates responded though, running over to the scene, quickly followed by United players, stewards, and police. All in all, it was a great big cuck up by both players.
However the fallout has been worse for Liverpool. Not only did Suarez act like a complete fool, but King Kenny held a very incredulous press conference, pretending not to know what happened and stare down any reporter who dared ask about it. Since then both Liverpool's sponsor, Standard Chartered, and their owners, American John W. Henry's group, have brought pressure on the club, prompting apologies from both Suarez and King Kenny.
What a joke.
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