Manchester United resisted a stirring late Liverpool rally to defeat their old rivals at Old Trafford, relying on the new man Robin van Persie to score one and create another for Nemanja Vidic.
Daniel Sturridge, who came on at half-time to give Liverpool a forward focus, pulled one back and made it an absorbing last half-hour, but United held firm.
It was thrilling fare for the 75,501 audience, including some special guests in Jose Mourinho, scouting United before Real Madrid’s Champions League encounter, and members of the Hillsborough families, who had been invited by Sir Bobby Charlton.
For those present, and hundreds of millions tuning in around the world, the game really became a contest only in the second half.
Sturridge injected real belief into Liverpool and is clearly building a promising understanding with Luis Suarez. Liverpool will take heart from that, a sign of real hope for the future under Brendan Rodgers, but United took the points.
