Many positives can be taken from the 1-0 defeat of Liverpool for the defending champions, who fought back from a run of poor performances.
Outclassed by City at the weekend, United came out full of intent in the Capital One Cup match this morning at Old Trafford.
The evergreen Ryan Giggs was looking like his younger self and the inclusion of Nani in the starting eleven proved to be a boost as United went on the attack early.
Yet, as has been seen on many the occasions this season, they failed to create chances, something seen even in the 2-0 defeat of Crystal Palace in which the 2 goals came from set pieces against 10 men.
After some solid defence, Liverpool mounted attacks of their own and really should have had an opener before half time through Daniel Sturridge, who shot wide.
United seemed as though they were scrambling during this period which lasted the bulk of the first half, with last-ditch rushed clearances from young fullbacks Chris Smalling and Phil Jones keeping the score level.
However, United did take some momentum in to the break as they dominated the last five minutes before half time, though no goals were scored.
Much like the United of old however, a blow was landed immediately after the break with Javier Hernandez taking advantage of a Liverpool defensive lapse to volley home a Wayne Rooney corner to take a 1-0 lead.
Liverpool proceeded to attack for a large part of the second half, but were unable to score largely thanks to a superb performance from United keeper David De Gea.
Kolo Toure had a very good chance to level the score, but his shot was off target from a good position in the 88th minute.
It was to be United’s night as David Moyes earned his first major victory as United manager, relieving some of the pressure placed upon the Scotsman in recent days.
Positive signs emerged from this game of United’s attacking game as they did create quite a few chances with Wayne Rooney and Shinji Kagawa being denied goals due some excellent work from Belgian custodian Simon Mignolet.
Despite this, it was obvious once more that despite the signing of Marouane Fellaini, much work is still to be done in developing the centre of midfield, as it once again lacked quality.
Nonetheless, the win was a step in the right direction for United; one that was much needed.
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