Liverpool 0, Manchester United 1 (D,Post)

Mar 5 2007 by Ian Doyle at Anfield

THE only player to score in the Premiership for Rafael Benitez’s Liverpool against Manchester United showed the way for the Spaniard’s misfiring forward line at the weekend.

But in doing so, John O’Shea brought into sharp focus just why the championship is heading for Old Trafford and not Anfield at the end of the season.

Even Sir Alex Ferguson had to admit United had snatched a fortunate victory from right under the noses of their greatest rivals, a smash-and-grab raid of the very highest order from a team that has made last-minute robbery an art form.

Yet a disbelieving Benitez was fooling nobody when he suggested it is just some luck that his Liverpool require to finally force their way into the Premiership domain exclusively occupied by United and champions Chelsea at present.

His team’s shortcomings are more deep-rooted than that. Although last season saw that historic FA Cup triumph, Liverpool have now not beaten United in six league meetings since Benitez assumed control in the summer of 2004, their only goal coming when O’Shea unwittingly struck into his own net during the Spaniard’s first Old Trafford encounter back in October of that year.

And while Saturday was the closest yet the Anfield manager has come to putting one over Ferguson in the Premiership, the problems that have undermined displays against their main rivals were once more glaringly obvious.

Benitez often cites the “small details” as decisive factors between victory and defeat, but a recurring inability to score against their main rivals – Liverpool have netted in only one of five league games this season against United, Arsenal and Chelsea – is a pretty big one.

That Benitez has already purchased Ukrainian forward Andriy Voronin hints the Anfield manager accepts he must again reshape his forward line, a necessary task given the evidence of an underachieving Premiership campaign. There was certainly a sense of déjà vu about Liverpool’s defeat on Saturday, evoking memories of last season’s visit to Old Trafford when they dominated but were undone by a last-minute goal from a free-kick conceded by Steve Finnan.

At the time, Benitez reckoned that performance showed his team were ready to make the final step up to become genuine title contenders. But since then, while United have rediscovered their verve, Liverpool have struggled to keep pace, despite possessing a stronger squad than in recent campaigns.