Player Ratings: Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United

Torres and Ngog two-good for United...

LIVERPOOL

Reina - 7 - Excelled in his role as sweeper, charging out to any balls hit over the top of his defence. Dealt calmly with anything that came his way, although he had few saves to make.

Johnson - 6 - Quiet performance from the England man. Rarely got beyond the half way line, and seemed short of full match fitness

Carragher - 7 - The Carragher of old made a re-appearance. Tenacious in the tackle and always there to fire his team mates up. Lucky to stay on the pitch after he pulled over Owen when he was charging down on goal.

Agger - 6 - Could have been pulled up for a barge on Giggs in the box. Was otherwise solid, if not spectacular.

Insua - 5 - His lack of pace and height made him an obvious target for United. Couldn't keep a lid on Valencia and offered little going forward.

Lucas - 7 - Broke up play with aplomb, much to the frustration of United. He bends the rulebook, but that's what a central midfielder should do. Still needs to work on his distribution.

Mascherano - 6 - Made Liverpool a spiky opponent in the middle and harried Scholes all afternoon. His emotions boiled over as he was sent off for a second yellow in injury time.

Benayoun - 7 - Offered his usual invention and conjured up the chance that Torres was happy to take.

Kuyt - 6 - A bundle of energy and a constant annoyance to the visitor's rearguard. His high energy, low quality display left a little to be desired in the final third, though.

Aurelio - 7 - Offered Insua a lifeline with his diligent tracking back and provided an attacking threat to boot. Unlucky to not find the back of the net with a header and a free kick.

Torres - 8 - Always looking to summon the moment of inspiration to change the game and found it past the hour mark. His pace and strength was too much for Ferdinand to handle. Deserved his goal after leading the line expertly.

Substitutes

Ngog - 7 - Killed off United's hope with a calmly taken goal deep in to injury time.

Skrtel - n/a

MANCHESTER UNITED

Van der Sar - 8 - Has timed his return to fitness to perfection. Made several fantastic saves, was calm in possession and charged out to catch any high balls.

O'Shea - 6 - Decent show from the Irishman as he linked well with the impressive Valencia.

Ferdinand - 5 - May have a few regrets when watching his part in Torres' goal. Let him have a yard of space, which is more than enough for the Spaniard to strike.

Vidic - 5 - Given his marching orders for the third time in a row against Liverpool after a block on Kuyt. Played reasonably well otherwise and a soft first booking proved his undoing

Evra - 5 - Not at his best. Booked early for a wild lunge on Torres and gave the ball away a number of times in dangerous positions.

Valencia - 7 - A new found confidence saw him breeze past Insua every time. He delivered a number of measured crosses, from which Rooney almost found the back of the net in the first half. Rattled the bar towards the end of the match.

Carrick - 6 - Better half of United's under-par central midfield. Calm in possession, but that wasn't enough when his team cried out for a source of inspiration.

Scholes - 4 - Lucas and Mascherano's pace sent him off kilter and he didn't seem comfortable on the Anfield pitch. Hooked for Nani.

Giggs - 6 - Played game on the periphery as the battle took place in the centre. Still had flashes of class and played a part in Johnson's failure to supplement Liverpool's attack.

Berbatov - 6 - Non-event of a match for the Bulgarian as he failed to get involved. Booked for a wild lunge in first half and brought off for Owen.

Rooney - 6 - Looked a yard short of his best as Ferguson's decision to bring him back for today failed to come off.

Substitutes

Owen - 6 - Added an extra threat for the visitors and his ability to sniff out a chance led to Carragher hauling him down.

Nani - n/a

Matt Monaghan, Goal.com UK

Taken from;
http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2009/10/25/1583198/player-ratings-liverpool-2-0-manchester-united