Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney endured one of his "worst days in football" after bitter rival Liverpool inflicted a humiliating 3-0 defeat on his team at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday.

Rooney summed up the mood of the champion after it conceded three penalties and captain Nemanja Vidic was sent off to gift a dominant Liverpool side a comfortable victory that effectively ended United's hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League.

"It's a nightmare; one of the worst days I've ever had in football," the England striker told MUTV.

"It's hard to take. You have to give Liverpool credit - they played well - but it's difficult to take.

"Nobody wants to lose, especially in this way, in your own stadium. It's not nice."

Two Steven Gerrard penalties and a Luis Suarez goal were the source of Rooney's misery, but in truth Liverpool could have scored a few more, with Gerrard missing a third penalty and Daniel Sturridge being denied another despite strong claims after a tackle from Michael Carrick.

"To go behind by one penalty was hard to take," Rooney said.

"We had a game plan for the second half, which went out the window when they got the second penalty so early on.

"Then, to concede a third penalty, even though they missed, was a big blow to us. We were then chasing the game with 10 men. That made it difficult for us and they kept the ball the rest of the game.

"I haven't seen the penalties back again, but from where I was standing on the pitch I don't think we can argue with them."

Before the match, Rooney hailed Liverpool counterpart Suarez as "one of the best players in the world."

"Suarez, for me, is up there with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the best players in the world," Rooney told MUTV.

"He has been that good and has been in great form this season. We will have to do everything we can to stop him.

"And obviously it is good to see Sturridge doing well because he has never really had a chance at his previous clubs.

"Brendan Rodgers has given him a chance and he has taken it with both hands.

"That is good for England as well."

Rooney's admission that the defeat joined some of the worst days in his career was an indication of the extent to which United's rival inflicted misery on his beleaguered team.

The striker has endured spectacularly bad days on the pitch, with a sending-off against Portugal for England in the 2006 World Cup quarterfinal and two Champions League final defeats ranking high on the list.

It was United's ninth league loss of the season and left it in seventh place, 12 points adrift of fourth and a Champions League qualification spot.

As if to underline the clubs' contrasting fortunes, Liverpool vaulted to second place with the victory and is now just four points behind leader Chelsea, with one game in hand.

(China Daily 03/18/2014 page24)