Liverpool 1 Manchester United 2Once again there was a sob story rather than an epic for the Anfield crowd. The supporters accepted it manfully, clapping at full-time because it is still a code of honour not to gripe and protest in public. The rage is reserved for phone-ins. Behind the stoic expressions lay the memory of one more instant when promise turned to pratfall.

A deserved, tumultuous comeback was on the verge of being completed in stoppage time as Danny Murphy stabbed a pass through, but Emile Heskey, having positioned himself perfectly, missed the ball with his right foot as his left slipped from under him.

Results keep slithering away from Liverpool, who have also lost at home to Chelsea and Arsenal by this margin. Gerard Houllier's side are easier on the eye this season, but results remain hard to take and they are developing a reputation for pathos and excruciating miscalculation.

The anguish crept into this match in the 58th minute. Ryan Giggs delivered an inswinging cross from the right and, as Ruud van Nistelrooy and Diego Forlan made for the near post with Igor Biscan in pursuit, Jerzy Dudek was transfixed. The ball glided past his statuesque figure.

That was embarrassment more than a mistake for a goalkeeper who could not have afforded to commit himself early, but even if the Pole was blameless there were heavy overtones of his hapless afternoon when Manchester United also won here last season.

Ten minutes later, Dudek was confirmed as victim rather than villain. With United showing the fluency that had settled upon them after the interval, Roy Keane fed Forlan on the left for a good cross which sped across the six-yard line before reaching Giggs. He let fly from an acute angle and, after a faint deflection from a defender, the ball spun freakishly off Dudek's outstretched boot to clip the underside of the bar before going in.

Regret was to reach toxic levels for Liverpool. The sparkling substitute Florent Sinama-Pongolle had only just set up a goal for Harry Kewell when, in the 77th minute, he fastened on to a pass by Steven Gerrard. As the teenager prepared to finish, Rio Ferdinand hurtled into a challenge to prevent a leveller.

He made no contact with the ball, but any touch on the French youngster was slight and Sinama-Pongolle barely launched a quizzical look at the referee Graham Poll, let alone an appeal. That was a mark of inexperience and it may also be a sign of disregard for Liverpool nowadays that the howling of the Kop was ignored.

The writhing frustration of Liverpool is the prevailing memory of this fixture because United were almost discreet in their effectiveness. It must be a delight to know they can do far better, since even unassuming form has been enough to keep them well placed in the Premiership.

The first half had to be relished for the technique of several midfield players, among whom Gerrard dominated. United were able to prevent danger developing in their goalmouth, and at the other end the only damage done by van Nistelrooy was to the reputation of Rangers. He had scored twice against them in the 3-0 Champions League victory but it was wrong of us to accept that as a demonstration of resurgence; rather it underlined the inadequacies of the Ibrox team, since here he was completely subjugated by Sami Hyypia.

The few fingerprints van Nistelrooy left on this match came with the handling offence which earned him a booking. So out of form was he one miscued cross ballooned so that it was yards away from its supposed target, Giggs.

Kewell's goal was exceptional. With 15 minutes left, Gerrard eased a pass to Sinama-Pongolle on the right and the livewire forward lobbed a cross over Mikael Silvestre for Kewell to convert with an expert volley.

Liverpool might have brought about more agitation in the goalmouth if Michael Owen's bruised ankle had healed in time for this match, but Houllier made no such excuses. He must, however, have been exasperated once more that the small signs of a revival in Heskey's finishing vanished here.

The manager is entitled to insist he has a more expressive team now, but the niggling worries continue. The feinting, wriggling El Hadji Diouf, for example, still does not produce a decisive cross and, after a booking, showed such a lack of self-control that he was substituted as a matter of urgency.

United had no such concerns over temperament and, although the final verdict of the Champions League is still to come, there is a solidity in the Premiership. It arises from widespread experience and the knotty core of the midfield, but also from the impact of their goalkeeper.

Tim Howard was once again secure and when an urgent response was at last required, in the 47th minute, he sprang to turn Kewell's drive behind. United look as if things go right for them as a matter of course, and that is one more attribute for frustrated Liverpool to envy.