Selfless Hernandez dismisses salvage act as champions held

Javier Hernandez insists he is no Manchester United hero despite coming off the bench to salvage a point at Liverpool.

The Mexican has endured a stop-start opening to his second Premier League campaign.

His pre-season was halted by the concussion he suffered on his first day of training after making a belated arrival to the club’s North American tour in July.

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Hernandez eventually made his competitive bow at the end of August, only to pick up knocks against Chelsea and Stoke that ruled him out of more matches.

His poacher’s instinct clearly remains intact though, judging by the way he snaffled the second-half opportunity afforded to him at Anfield, when Danny Welbeck flicked on Nani’s corner.

It was Hernandez’s third goal of the season and secured a draw which, even if it was not enough to prevent Manchester City going top of the table, at least preserved the champions’ unbeaten record ahead of next weekend’s Old Trafford derby.

“I scored a goal but it is Manchester United that scored,” said the 23-year-old. “It doesn’t matter who scored the goals. There are no heroes here.”

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It is the kind of selfless attitude manager Sir Alex Ferguson must love, and there is no denying Hernandez helped change the flow of a typically tight affair that only came to life once Steven Gerrard sent his free-kick through the gap Ryan Giggs created when he split from the United wall.

“It is part of the game,” reflected Hernandez on United’s defensive wall not doing its job.

“Gerrard scored a similar goal to that at Old Trafford last season, so we need to work a little bit more on it.”

After Hernandez’s equaliser, United initially looked capable of going on to win but the champions were pushed back by a late Liverpool surge.

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Twice the hosts felt they had sealed a fourth straight home win over the Red Devils, only for Dirk Kuyt and Jordan Henderson to be denied in turn by David de Gea.

After three substitute appearances totalling just under an hour, Gerrard made the most of his first start since his surgery with his goal but said: “It would have been the perfect day if my goal had been the winner but it wasn’t to be.”

He added: “I don’t know whether frustration is the right word but the lads were a little bit disappointed that we didn’t hang on after we took the lead.

“Both sides showed each other too much respect in the first half and that was maybe why it was a bit flat. But in the second half we came out really positive and we kept pushing for that winner.”