For the fourth consecutive time, Old Trafford was too much for Liverpool, who came to play about 60 minutes too late. Manchester United were the better side for the first hour, including the entire first half, getting enough of an advantage through the goals of Robin van Persie and Nemanja Vidic, giving them enough of an advantage to come away with a 2-1 win.
This means that since September 29, United have dropped points only once, in a 1-1 draw in Swansea. Except for that, it’s all been wins. Liverpool were set up with a bad lineup and formation by Brendan Rodgers, too cautious and too reliant on Luis Suarez during the first 45 minutes to really do any damage. Also starting Joe Allen instead of Jordan Henderson was another mistake.
Eventually, the most dangerous man in the Premier League was the first man to go on the score sheet. A nice passing move from United ended with a low pass to the box. Robin van Persie escaped from the (un)watchful eyes of Daniel Agger, enough to create space for the opening goal.
This was followed by more United pressure, as both Ashley Young and Danny Welbeck kept Liverpool defenders on their toes. Pepe Reina, Agger and Skrtel were there more than once to keep it only at 1-0 after 45 minutes.
The second half was a different story. After scoring in the 55th minute through the head of Nemanja Vidic, instead of finishing the match with more pressure on the semi-broken Liverpool, United were stunned by Daniel Sturridge, scoring his first Premier League goal for his new club. Steven Gerrard got a parry out of David de Gea, giving Sturrdige the chance to react quickly and scoop the rebound, thrusting Liverpool back in the match.
From there it was mostly about the visitors spending time inside the United box. Ferdinand and Vidic were surprisingly stable in their coverage of Liverpool’s three strikers, who were too selfish on the several opportunities they created in the final 25 minutes, eventually helping United escape with the win and creating a 10 point lead at the top of the table.