Man of the match Steven Gerrard claimed beating Manchester United was becoming a habit for Liverpool after last night's win at Old Trafford completed the double over the defending champions.

Following on from last season's two victories over United, it was also the first time that any team had done the double twice over Alex Ferguson's side.

"We've been here and done it before and we seem to be making a habit of it in the last couple of years," the England midfielder said after the game.

"We've been under some stick recently but most importantly we got three points. I thought we deserved to win."

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of last night's game, Gerrard found time to praise referee Graham Barber for his attitude to the most heated of English club fixtures.

Gerrard committed a foul inside the first minute and he admitted he was worried Barber may wave the red card, instead of the yellow he produced.

"I thought I was going to go but I thought the ref showed commonsense," he added.

Goalscorer Danny Murphy, who came under fire from fans on Saturday, was quick to credit Gerrard with the assist for his 85th-minute winner. "It was a similar ball he gave me at Blackburn and I fluffed that one," said Murphy.

"It is nice because it is Manchester United but the three points puts us back in it," he added.

Anfield assistant boss Phil Thompson, 47 on Monday, enjoyed his belated birthday present. He said: "It's a wonderful win. To come here and win at any time is a fantastic result. But we've been going through a tricky patch, so it was very important. The players were absolutely magnificent tonight.

"I'm thrilled for Danny Murphy. The fans were frustrated with him on Saturday (when Southampton drew 1-1 at Anfield). But I believe in Danny. He's got great ability and he'll run all day, and he repaid that belief tonight."

United boss Alex Ferguson could not believe his team lost: "I thought we deserved to win and were the better team. Liverpool defended fantastically well but we were the team with the imagination and the flair and I'm amazed we didn't win.

"I think they (Liverpool) had to have more purpose in the second half. They soaked us up in the first half when we played well. But they didn't really threaten us - but they scored a goal which was exceptionally well taken."

Asked how significant the result could be he continued: "We won't know until May but we're going to have to perform exceptionally well. It makes it an interesting league and everyone will be happy about that - but for us it was a disappointment."

Ferguson was tight-lipped about whether Paolo di Canio is on his way to Old Trafford.