Manchester United made to look 'foolish' as 'cracking up' Liverpool jibes silenced
"Rafa's cracking up" crowed the Manchester United faithful as Liverpool rolled into Old Trafford on March 14, 2009.
The United supporters were revelling in the infamous pre-match press conference from Rafa Benitez two months earlier where he had bullishly gone on the attack against Alex Ferguson and perceived preferential treatment for the Red Devils' manager.
With a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League, United's followers gleefully focused their ire on the Reds boss prior to the game.
However, it was to be Ferguson whose claims would raise eyebrows after the game when he stated United were the better side after a chastening 4-1 home defeat to Benitez's Reds.
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It's been 15 years since the Reds breathed life back into their title challenge of 2009 by comprehensively dispatching their greatest rivals in their own backyard.
Liverpool were dealt a pre-match blow with the news that Alvaro Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso would miss out through injury, but Lucas Leiva and Sami Hyypia would make light of the Spaniards' absences as the Reds dealt United their biggest defeat in 17 years.
Cristiano Ronaldo put the home side 1-0 up from the penalty spot after Pepe Reina had fouled Ji-Sung Park. However, that was to be as good as it got for Ferguson's side as a rampant Reds ran riot at Old Trafford.
Fernando Torres - as he so often did - terrorised Nemanja Vidic and calmly slotted past Edwin van der Sar after nipping in ahead of the Serbian centre-back to make it 1-1. And the visitors then took the lead
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