Dimitar Berbatov says the feeling of scoring the winner for Manchester United against Liverpool is “f—ing unbelievable”.
The Bulgarian put the Reds to the sword early in the 2010-11 season, firing a famous hat-trick in a 3-2 United win at Old Trafford.
After putting his side 2-0 up with a stunning overhead kick, Berbatov saw Liverpool come back into the game with two goals from Steven Gerrard – but he says he knew the game was there to be won.
“When you’re Manchester United at Old Trafford, of course you’re going to put pressure on teams,” he told the club’s official website.
“We were always scoring goals in the last minute. It is in the air. You see that something is coming, you smell that something is coming.
“And I was so confident that day, I was sure that if I had one more chance, I would score.
Since it's Bulgaria's Independence Day... How about a Dimitar Berbatov special? 😎pic.twitter.com/IMYx6TEoRO
— Goal (@goal) September 22, 2019
“When Sheasy [John O’Shea] floated the ball into the area, as a striker you need to look and move for the space in the box.
“Even though there were many, many players in the box in that situation, if you know where to stand, where there will be space, how to position yourself… sometimes the ball is going to come for you. That was the case in that moment.
“As a young striker, many people told me that one second in football can be very important. If you jump one second before him, it’s over, you win.
“Sheasy put the ball in, I timed my jump one second before [Jamie] Carragher, it was so easy for me to get the ball, get the header, get the goal.
“Game over. We win.
“After that, everything is a blur. You’re running blind. You don’t see anything but colour. Let me tell you, that feeling is f—ing unbelievable.”
Berbatov’s treble was made even sweeter when he found out just how rare the achievement was.
“One or two days afterwards, I found out that it was the first hat-trick for United against Liverpool in something like 65 years,” he added.
“I didn’t know that before. It makes me smile because it makes it even more special. A hat-trick, at Old Trafford, against Liverpool, to win the game. Perfect.”