Like old sweethearts, long lost and out of touch, surprisingly bumping into each other again at a Christmas party, Liverpool and history reacquainted themselves yesterday. They enjoyed the reunion, however fleeting. Not only did Liverpool become the first visiting team to win in the Premiership at Old Trafford since Middlesbrough did so two years ago tomorrow, Liverpool carved out a little piece for their own club: this was their first win here since March 1990. Their fans, who had sung "18 times" repeatedly to emphasise their historical superiority over the dreaded enemy in terms of league titles, celebrated at the end as if they had just made it 19.
The Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier quickly dispelled any Merseyside thoughts that Liverpool are in serious contention for another title - "I'm not defeatist, I know United will win it, definitely" - but he did not hide his instant pleasure at at overcoming the champions on their home turf. "Proud and pleased," was how he replied to a question about how he was feeling. "Winning here is always special because of the record. I think it's 44 games since they last lost here in the league. To beat them at Old Trafford is special."
And not just for Houllier. Every manager in the Premiership will have cheered this scoreline, as will every fan who wants the league to be a story rather than a lecture. The result means that Manchester United, having held an eight-point advantage over Arsenal before their match at Charlton Athletic last Saturday, will lead by only three points should Arsenal win at Tottenham Hotspur tonight. That is hardly a straightforward matter, but at least we have some intrigue at the top of the Premiership.
"We had a plan," said Houllier. The plan involved neutralising United's midfield. No matter how complicated or clever it was intended to be, the unavoidable fact is that yesterday Liverpool's biggest tool in implementing the plan was Uniteds' uncharacteristically wayward distribution from that crucial zone. Consequently, Igor Biscan, who had apparently started the game after everyone else, ended up ticking over Liverpool's midfield like clockwork.
Asked what his latest purchase brought to Liverpool, Houllier replied: "Efficiency. Not spectacular but extremely effective." The 22-year-old Croatian, who was off the pace last Wednesday against Fulham, is acclimatising fast. He arrived in the country only 12 days ago. Biscan was aided by Steven Gerrard and by the kind of resolute defending from Sami Hyypia that made him one of last year's players of the season. But again there was United assistance. With Teddy Sheringham out with a hamstring injury and Dwight Yorke suspended, United were led initially by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Paul Scholes. As early as midway through the first half it was a failed policy and Scholes dropped back to allow Ryan Giggs join Solskjaer. Later they were to lose young substitute Luke Chadwick, sent off for a foul on Vladimir Smicer.
But no combination had really convinced. Illustrative of United's lack of penetration was that Sander Westerveld made only one noteworthy save in the entire game. It came from Solskjaer three minutes after half-time and was the result of a Hyypia mistake rather than any United construction.
Not that Alex Ferguson faulted his strikers in particular, in fact he almost excused them. "I don't know if that mattered a lot," he said when talking of his absentee forwards. "The quality of our passing was disappointing, nowhere near the level of quality we've come to expect. It looked like we were in too much of a hurry.
"Liverpool did defend their midfield well, but we've had to deal with that time and time again here. You need accuracy in your passing to break that down." Accuracy was another United injury.
With David Beckham having his quietest game for months, Scholes seemingly unsure of where he should be and Roy Keane and Nicky Butt delivering simple as opposed to incisive passes, United left Liverpool to get on with it. Yet such was their dip in confidence after three defeats in their last four Premiership matches that it took a while for them to believe this could be an early Christmas lunch.
Perhaps Michael Owen, preferred to Robbie Fowler as Emile Heskey's partner, stifled Liverpool's appetite by appearing as a turkey every time the ball was played near him. It could be the only analysis Kevin Keegan got right at England: Owen is not the finished product despite Owen's contrary opinion.
There were many examples of his deficiencies yesterday, but two stood out. Shortly before half-time Owen raced onto a Heskey flick only for Owen's bulldozer first touch to take the ball through to Fabien Barthez. Then, 45 seconds after the interval, Owen was set up by Markus Babbel and clipped the crossbar when unmarked 12 yards out.
Fortunately for Owen, Danny Murphy had been less wasteful two minutes before the break. Gary Neville had given away a free-kick on the edge of the United D with an inexplicable handball when under no pressure. The United wall "could have been better" according to Ferguson, but would most likely have been beaten by Murphy's effort which skimmed the inside of the post. It turned out to be an historic strike.
Manchester United: Barthez, Irwin (Chadwick 80), Gary Neville, Brown, Silvestre, Beckham, Butt (Greening 71), Keane, Scholes, Giggs, Solskjaer. Subs Not Used: Van Der Gouw, O'Shea, Phil Neville. Sent Off: Chadwick (89). Booked: Silvestre.
Liverpool: Westerveld, Babbel, Henchoz, Hyypia, Carragher, Murphy (McAllister 89), Gerrard, Biscan, Barmby, Heskey, Owen (Smicer 75). Subs Not Used: Nielsen, Fowler, Traore. Goals: Murphy 43. Att: 67,533.
Referee: M Riley (Leeds).
