Sir Alex Ferguson has expressed his disappointment at the media reaction to United's victory over Liverpool.

Dimitar Berbatov

In a post-match interview, Sir Alex reflected on the thrilling victory and Dimitar Berbatov's superb hat-trick, and also referenced Fernando Torres' reaction to a foul by John O'Shea; saying: "Torres made a meal of it, an absolute meal of it. There is no doubt he tried to get the player sent off."

After finding subsequent reports emblazoned with suggestions that he had labelled the Liverpool striker 'a cheat', Sir Alex has questioned the media's focus in reporting the afternoon's events.

Speaking to MUTV, Sir Alex said: "If you think about Berbatov scoring a hat-trick - the first to score a hat-trick in 64 years in that game - you'd have thought that would get the back-page headlines, but that was stuck on the inside.

"It was all me saying Torres was a cheat, which was absolutely ridiculous press. I said, quite rightly, that I thought he had made the most of it. That's not to say the guy's a cheat. It could apply to any player in a given moment, taking advantage of a situation.

"But that was disappointing (from) a lot of the press. I thought Berbatov would have grabbed all the headlines, which he really did deserve."

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Wayne Rooney's game is hurting in media glare, says Sir Alex Ferguson

• 'He cannot move without the paparazzi on him'
• 'The siege of the tabloids can wear anyone out'

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted for the first time that Wayne Rooney's form has suffered for Manchester United this season because he is struggling to cope with the intense media spotlight that has been placed upon him.

Rooney, the reigning Footballer of the Year with 34 goals last season, has been conspicuously short of reaching that level this season, and Ferguson believes the player may be mentally exhausted after allegations about his private life.

"I don't believe he has a confidence problem but the boy is starting to realise finally, without any question, what kind of focus is on him as a human being," Ferguson said. "He is realising what it means to be at the centre of media attention for non-football-related questions.

"I don't think the boy can turn a corner at the moment without a camera on him. He can't move without the paparazzi being on him and, for a young person, that is not what you want. You want to play and enjoy your football without that attention on you, because that can be quite exhausting."

It is the first time in Rooney's career that his performances seem to have been adversely affected by some of the headlines he has attracted, and Ferguson painted the picture of a man not enjoying his professional work. "He would like to keep playing with freedom, but the siege of the tabloids can wear out anyone."

In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Ferguson reiterated that he was not concerned by Chelsea's immaculate start to the season, with five straight Premier League wins, because he considered they had been fortunate with their early fixtures. "I think Chelsea chose the calendar themselves," he told the Italian paper, reflecting on a fixture list that has seen the champions play West Bromwich Albion, Wigan Athletic, Stoke City, West Ham United and Blackpool. "It's been a quite amazing start for them but you still have to beat those teams and Chelsea have done that in quite a strong fashion. They finished last season scoring a lot of goals against the weaker teams and have continued that way. Anyone who wins the league will have to finish above them."

He went on to speak of his belief that United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur could be the strongest four teams again. Liverpool did not merit a mention, although he did not discount Manchester City. "City did not have the strongest start of the season, but you have to think that with the squad they have they will be there. I saw the Liverpool game [a 3-0 win] and they're going to be a big challenge, the power they have, the big lads in the team. Roberto Mancini bought half a team in the summer, which will not be easy to bed down, but if they get continuity they'll certainly be a threat."

Switching his attention to the Champions League, Ferguson also predicted a stronger threat from Real Madrid now José Mourinho is manager. "Real Madrid are better off, without question, and you can expect them to improve. The Real Madrid job is the hardest challenge in José's career. I've spoken to José a couple of times and he's not managing a normal football club. Sometimes he's managing a circus, sometimes a fantastic outfit in term of the quality of the football they can produce and the kind of players they always want. But it's a very difficult club to manage."

www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/sep/21/manchester-united-new-contract-policy