DEVILS KOP IT

What made Saturday's win so satisfying was that we fully deserved to win the three points.
As a fairly magnanimous Ferguson condeded in the post match interview, his team were 'out-hassled and out-tackled' by Liverpool.
Correct. I'd also add 'out-skilled' into that equation, Alec.
This was the kind of 'up and at em' showing that we've been crying out for at the beginning of this stuttering season.
There were strong performances all over the pitch, and some players seemed to finally get it that we can't always rely on two or three men to bail us out of trouble.

Around eight players deserved at least a 7 out of 10, with the Man of the Match honours being fought over by Macherano and Kuyt.
The Argentinian probably just about shaded it with some fantastic drive, commitment and passion all over the field.
The £16m we paid for him looks more and more a bargain with every passing week. He showed no little skill too, and he's surprsingly quick when he gets into his stride.
Onto Kuyt, what an enigma this man is. First thing, he looks so much happier playing as a genuine centre forward than being stuck out on the right.
He must be a star striker's dream. Keane and Torres must love playing with him. Let Dirk get on with the knock downs, the pullbacks and the selfless runs to pull defenders away.

He'll do all that and more and pave the way for the £15+ centre forward to bag the goals.
A plea to Benitez here. Let's not put an unhappy Dirk onto the wing anymore. It's got to be up front or the bench for the Dutchman.
There were positive things to be seen from our debutant on the left hand side too. With Albert Riera installed, we suddenly had that balance that had been sadly lacking.
Now, Alonso has someone to pass to on the left hand side. And when Riera got the ball, he made some real inroads into the Manc defence.
He beat men on repeated occasions, relased the ball when he should, and his backheels and flicks opened up dangerous attacking movements.
At £8m, this guy could turn out to be a steal. Early days though. Aurelio seemed to like playing with him too, and the pair formed a potent attacking force down the left.

Yossi looked far happier being told to play on the right, rather than the left. He was comfortable on the ball, looked at ease cutting inside, and was always popping up in the centre, where we need him.
As for Alonso, I thought he was the one player who was off the pace on Saturday. So, I couldn't believe he picked up Sky's MOTM bubbly at the end of the game.
He wasn't dire by any means, but he had a pretty mediocre game for me, often leaving it to Mascherano to pick the penetrating pass and raise the tempo.
As I've said previously, with Gerrard absent, these are the games to show Rafa he can be the creative incisive midfielder he surely wants to be.
I felt that yet again, he didn't take that invitation.

Some typically solid showings at the back - I can't see how Agger can expect to get back in the first team when Carra and Kurgan are playing so well.
Even the sometimes irritating Arbeloa had a good game, and looked quite dangerous going forwards. Wonders never cease.
As for the sending off, it couldn't be argued against could it? Vidic might have even seen a straight red for his hacked down challenge on Keane.
This was quite a bit different to John Terry's undeserved red against Citeh.
Keane was a lot closer to goal and Ferdinand was further up the park than Carvalho was at Eastlands. Should have been straight red for Vidic, but just a yellow for Terry.
And he poleaxed Xabi with a ridiculous elbow later on, so he can have no complaints.

How Ferguson could take issue was perplexing. Still, he has to get in at least ONE unjustified red-faced rant doesn't he?
He even brought Carragher into the equation, claiming Jamie always leads with the elbow.
Carra might be a bit clumsy at times, but I've never really known him to elbow strikers' jaws on a regular basis.
Jamie's clumsiness usually revolves around letting the ball hit his hands far too often. But for a man who makes a living out of throwing his body selflessly in front of shots and crosses, that's going to happen sometimes.

On the whole, to perform like this without our two best players has got to be a huge shot in the arm for the whole squad.
If players like Kuyt, Benayoun and Babel can start getting their fingers out to lighten the load of Torres and Gerrard then we have a real chance going close this season.
If Keane suddenly gets in gear, maybe even Pennant picks up on the positive, hard working vibe around the club, we may just get that momentum and confidence to start performing like a side who know they have enough talent to rival the likes of Chelsea and United.
The Russians and the Gooners look good at the moment. But how satisfying is it to see the Mancs languishing in the basement?