EPL Villain of the Week: Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov

The Red vs. Red Devil rivalry is one of the most intense and grand rivalries in all of Europe.

Sunday's edition of this saw a dominant start by United only to see it rapidly slip away to Captain Fantastic on two set plays before a completed hat trick by Dimitar Berbatov managed to seal United's victory over the ailing Liverpool.

Now, why would this make Berbatov a villain?

He was classy throughout the entire match and is easily on of the cleanest players in all the world who works even harder for his underpowered national side.

He shows playmaking and passing that is rare in the Premiership and is a joy to watch even for opposition supporters.

He has also finally showed his scoring abilities for United making them deadly even without Wayne Rooney being at his sparkling best.

Considering all of this, why is he the villain?

Ask United fans what they thought of Berbatov all this time.

Ask them about Carlos Tevez joining the Sky Blues of Manchester.

Ask them if he was worth his ridiculous transfer sum.

Berbatov plays the villain this week because he has absolutely underachieved for so long on his team; especially on the biggest stages.

He has ignored his gifts for being passive and let down fans of the game.

And now?

Now he is an actual factor beyond dropping to the midfield and attempting to pass into spaces he should be running into.

Berbatov is now a force, and for all those who oppose the hegemony that United have created over the past two decades, the villain.