Sir Alex Ferguson accuses Fernando Torres of cheating

Sir Alex Ferguson labelled striker Fernando Torres a cheat following Manchester United’s clash with Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The Red Devils walked out 3-2 winners thanks to a hat-trick from Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov, who fired one past Pepe Reina in the dying minutes of the first-half before sealing the deal with two goals at the start and end of the second period.

At 2-0 down Liverpool looked to be out of the game, but Torres, who had been left isolated up front for the majority of the game, sprung into action, breaking in to the box and being brought down by Johnny Evans, allowing captain Steven Gerrard to convert the spot kick.

Minutes later Torres was brought down again, this time by John O’Shea on the edge of the United box, with Gerrard once again stepping up and blasting a free-kick past Edwin Van der Sar to bring the visitors level.

A late goal by Dimitar Berbatov secured a win for the hosts but despite walking away with all three points, Ferguson felt the need to criticise Torres for his part in the two goals United conceded.

“I’ve watched it. Definitely, Torres made a meal of it, an absolute meal of it. There’s no doubt he tried to get the player sent off.” Ferguson said of Torres’ behaviour when winning the free-kick against O’Shea.

“It was a game we absolutely dominated. At 2-0, it could have been a cricket score – 2-2 was an absolute farce.

“I was saying to myself, ‘It could’ve been 10′, so when it looked like ending 2-2 it would have been a travesty of a scoreline, but it was a great result at the end.

“They had the momentum when it went to 2-2, but they never offered anything did they? They had to depend on decisions from the linesman to get back into the game.

He added: “The build-up to these games is such that, if one doesn’t win, it’s a catastrophe. For Liverpool, this is a catastrophe.”