Henry Winter's report: Reds 2-0 Man Utd

The chances of Rafa Benitez cracking a smile are as likely as Gary Neville being invited to turn on the Christmas lights in Penny Lane or Nemanja Vidic ever finishing one of these games.

Impassive throughout, Liverpool's manager should really have allowed himself a little grin after this richly-deserved triumph over Manchester United. He'd earned it.
 
Despite the party going on around him at the final whistle, Benitez remained downbeat, perhaps aware how reliant Liverpool were on two magnificent men, Fernando Torres and Jamie Carragher, the key passion players in this blockbuster of a footballing drama.
 
The shirts of Lucas and Javier Mascherano glistened with the sweat of their immense endeavours but this was really the Torres and Carragher show.

Torres, his mobility restricted by a groin problem, required an injection to get him into battle. However sore and stretched his sinews, Torres' spirit was so strong, the striker even persuading Benitez on the bus to Anfield that he was ready for the fray.
 
Good move. Liverpool's No 9 tormented the champions' defence, scoring his 34th league goal at Anfield in his 35th appearance. David Ngog added a late second but the damage was done by Torres. After defeats by Fiorentina, Chelsea, Sunderland and Lyon, this was a much-craved victory. If a film is made of this tense period of Liverpool's season it will surely be titled 'Four Funerals and a Wedding'. The club felt bonded together yesterday.
 
If Torres formed the cutting edge that slashed United's backline to pieces, Carragher blunted the visitors' attack, frustrating Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov time after time with challenges on the ground and in the air.
 
On Friday, Carragher had made a goodwill visit to HMS Illustrious and yesterday he stopped his own crew from being all at sea.
 
Captaining in the absence of Steven Gerrard, Carragher set the defiant tone in the dressing room and on the pitch. The players had to deliver. This was Liverpool's day from the moment the Kop brilliantly mocked the few beach-balls flying out from the United corner with hundreds of their own, from the moment the hairs on the back of local necks stood up in salute of a powerful rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone.
 
For all the talk of Benítez's bad buys and the manager's cold character, yesterday showed that with leaders like Carragher around, Liverpool must always be respected. Carragher should still have walked the plank for hauling down his old friend, Michael Owen, who was through on goal. Straight red. It had to be. The referee, Andre Marriner, inexplicably felt that Owen was running away from goal, not an obvious career trait of one of the most prolific strikers in the history of English football. No one was covering. No wonder Sir Alex Ferguson wore the look of a man who had swallowed a beehive.
 
A centre-half was sent off. As one run ended, another lengthened. Vidic was expelled for the third successive occasion against Liverpool.
 
Slightly unfortunate with his first yellow, a minor infringement against Torres, his second could have been straight red as he pulled down Dirk Kuyt, who was through on goal. What is it about Vidic and Liverpool? The Serb could get booked listening to The Beatles.
 
Inevitably, Ferguson moaned about the referee but really there were two people attempting to run this game, Marriner and Neville. As he warmed up along the touchline, Neville kept lecturing the linesman in-between goading lippy Liverpool fans. Mike Phelan, Ferguson's No 2, eventually had to bring the club's stroppy No 2 back into the dug-out.
 
Neville's behaviour was disgraceful. No one expected anything else. This is the fixture of sound and fury signifying everything. The intense rivalry that Ferguson had spoken about was present everywhere from the froideur between the managers, the hatred between the fans and the competitive zeal embodied by Carragher and Torres.
 
The DJ chose the wrong Frankie Goes To Hollywood track before kick-off, picking Relax instead of Two Tribes (Go to War).
 
Such was the antagonism that Marriner delivered a 'cool it' talk to both captains, Carragher and Ryan Giggs, at the break. The festering tension had escalated partly because both sides were seething at not being awarded penalties. Giggs was flattened by Daniel Agger, Carragher took out Michael Carrick, while Berbatov ripped the adidas logo off Kuyt's shirt.
 
Liverpool had more to feel frustrated about, following an astonishing double save by Edwin van der Sar from Fábio Aurelio and Kuyt in the 16th minute. United's keeper had no chance when Liverpool, palpably the better, hungrier side, came calling in the 65th minute.
 
The ball flew from Kuyt to Yossi Benayoun to Torres, who was hurtling down the inside-right channel, pursued by Rio Ferdinand. United's centre-half could not live with the pace and determination of Torres' run, nor Van der Sar cope with the speed of the Spaniard's shot, which arrowed past him into the roof of the net as Kopites raised their own roof.
 
As Liverpool players and fans celebrated wildly, as United supporters shouted for their idols to react, here was a thrilling reminder of why English football offers such epic entertainment. For the enthralled 44,188 on the edge of their seats inside Anfield. For the hundreds of millions perched on the edge of their sofas around the world. This was the sort of chaos and carnival that makes the Premier League such compelling viewing.
 
The noise rose higher when Owen emerged from the United dug-out to warm up. A tally of 158 goals in 297 games for Liverpool meant nothing. Owen was slaughtered, the home fans waving notes at him, implying that only money motivated him. Nonsense, of course, but what will hurt Owen were chants of "Where were you in Istanbul?" United fans responded, chorusing: "Michael Owen is a red — he hates Scousers."
 
Owen was granted 17 minutes by Ferguson to try to silence the locals. He was immediately involved, setting up Antonio Valencia, whose shot cannoned away off the bar. Patrice Evra was so annoyed that he thumped a stray beach-ball into the crowd.
 
United were disappointing. Nani came on and disappeared down cul-de-sacs. Rooney headed over. Despite losing Mascherano to two bookable offences, Liverpool added a late second, Lucas ushering Ngog through to score. Unmoved on the outside, Benitez, surely, was smiling inside.

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the views or position of Liverpool Football Club.