Monday, March 16, 2009

Real & United thrashing were for the fans - Mascherano


JAVIER MASCHERANO today dedicated Liverpool’s 4-1 hammering of Manchester United to the club’s supporters.

The Argentinean midfielder was outstanding as the Reds racked up their biggest win at Old Trafford since 1936 but he was quick to highlight the role played by the fans both on Saturday and in the 4-0 mauling of Real Madrid four days earlier.
“This win is for the fans, for the support that they have given us,” said Mascherano.
“When they support us like they did against Man United and Real Madrid it is really special and that is why this win is for them.
“I hope it makes them feel really happy.
“It is a much better feeling than last year (when United ran out 3-0 winners).
“The team played very well and we kept the same level as we showed against Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
“We have to keep going the same way. It is a great day for the supporters and we are really happy.
“We played very well against Real Madrid and that gave us a lot of confidence to bring to Old Trafford.
“It was important we kept our level and we did that.
“To beat Real and now United with four goals in each game is very good.
“It was very difficult in the beginning with falling behind to the penalty but we showed a lot of character and quality to come back into the game and win. We played very well.”
Mascherano admitted he had to put last year’s game out of his mind and forget all about his sending off in that fixture.
The 24-year-old picked up a booking for a foul but kept his composure throughout despite feeling he did not deserve the yellow card dished out by referee Alan Wiley.

“I was booked but it wasn't a bad foul,” he said.
“The referee told me I had done five or six fouls. I didn't agree but it's okay, I made sure I was focused on the game and helping my team-mates to win.
“I had to forget about what happened here last year.
“Sometimes things happen ike this in football but I was sure going into this game that I wouldn't have the same problem at Old Trafford this time.
“I was determined not to suffer that again. You have to look forward in football and not dwell on problems in the past.”
Saturday’s win cut United’s lead at the top to four points, although the reigning champions do have a game in hand.
Mascherano is refusing to be drawn on whether or not Liverpool could still upset the odds by coming from behind to finish top of the pile and he admits he remains frustrated by the number of points that have been dropped at Anfield.
“I don't know if we can win the league,” he said.
“We don't need to think about the title race right now, we just need to keep this form going.
“It would be wrong of us to start talking about being in the title race again.
“United still have a good lead over us and we need to keep winning.
“If United don't lose then it will be really difficult to catch them but we need to win all
our games. We have to take it step by step.
“The problem is we have dropped a lot of very important points at home. We
have spoken about this in the dressing room.
“When you lose points at Anfield to Hull and Man City and other teams like that then you have to be disappointed, but even more so now that we have gone to Old Trafford and won so well.
“All we can do now is keep going. There are still nine games to go and we need to win every single one to have a chance of catching United.”

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