United's Midfield Pair Earn Praise

Sir Alex Ferguson was very pleased with Anderson's and Hargreaves's performance at Anfield.

United secured a priceless 1-0 win at their bitter rivals thanks to a gritty defensive display.And it was largely down to the excellence of their two central midfielders, Owen Hargreaves and Anderson.

'Anderson was terrific, he wasn`t intimidated by Steven Gerrard,' Sir Alex told MUTV.

'I thought he handled that particular part of the game really well. Steven was actually quite quiet today. Hargreaves has got more experience obviously. Both of them did a great job.'

And this great job can get us a long way this season, according to the boss who feels we have an outstanding chance of retaining our title.

'This was a typical Liverpool-United game,' he said.

'The fans create such a fervour and it`s difficult for the referee. Flowing football isn`t the issue, it`s about winning the game. But in the moments when we did play football in the first half, we looked the better team.

'It`s a marvellous day for us - a good team performance and a great result. I said before the game that I feel the games between the top sides are going to be important this season.

'It`s going to be a long struggle to the end of the season. But if we can be top or thereabouts on New Year`s Day, we'll have an outstanding chance of retaining the title.'