United laugh loudest in comedy of errors

Shortly after kick-off the clouds cleared to reveal a beautiful blue sky over Anfield, but one shadow remained over the north-west throughout yesterday afternoon.

That was the long one cast by Arsenal and, to judge from the error-strewn fare Liverpool and Manchester United produced, these historic rivals will remain in the champions' shade until May.

Although a calamitous error by Jerzy Dudek and two goals by the once-pilloried Diego Forlan were the focus of short-term attention, the poverty of passing, the absence of imagination and the failure of courage all suggested the Premiership pennant will be raised again at Highbury.

Failure of courage? There was no lack of physical bravery. Gary Neville exemplified the valour required for this fixture with a bloodied display which did much to atone for his nightmare at Maine Road. But few players had the courage to dwell on the ball and wait for the moment, to look for the telling ball, to make the space to make the difference.

As a result this was, until Dudek unaccountably let Jamie Carragher's back-header through his arms, a poor match which would not have been out of place in the Nationwide. The derby context and high stakes raised the atmosphere but it was like a bad action movie, all sound and fury but no coherence. Players of the quality of Paul Scholes and Steven Gerrard were guilty of needlessly wasting possession on a regular basis.

Afterwards, Sir Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports (which has a significant shareholding in the club) "this was Manchester United at its best". Since he refuses to speak to the written press, this ridiculous assertion went unquestioned.

Not that United, despite the limitations of this performance, can be dismissed. Judgement must wait for the injured players to come back. The loss of Juan Sebastian Veron and Laurent Blanc may be more serious on paper than in reality but any team, however well resourced, would feel the absence of such luminaries as Roy Keane, Rio Ferdinand, David Beckham and Nicky Butt. In addition, victories breed confidence which frees players from fear and, after Forlan tapped in Dudek's fumble, they briefly revived memories of their salad days with some neat passing. Forlan scored again in this period but, after Sami Hyypia's goal inspired a late Liverpool rally, United's survival owed more to cussedness than class.

This fixture last season resulted in a comprehensive victory for Liverpool which left everyone, Ferguson included, questioning United's future. It now appears that that match did not signal a shift in power, at least not in Liverpool's direction. For all Gérard Houllier's spouting of statistics, detailing shots and goals, they lack the je nais sais quoi which makes Arsenal so easy on the eye. The suspicion is that Houllier, unlike Arsène Wenger and Ferguson, is essentially conservative. Jari Litmanen has been sold, El Hadji Diouf moulders on the bench.

And yet, yesterday he entrusted Vladimir Smicer in the key role as provider for Michael Owen and Milan Baros. The Czech struggled; poor passing meant he rarely received the ball and when he did there was insufficient movement around him, especially in wide areas. Only Danny Murphy, so often a success against United, was an exception to the general malaise, but this time he was unable to conjure a goal.

Nor could Owen. He had half-chances but Gary Neville, who seemed to have made denying his England team-mate a personal mission, was usually there to intercept. Neville also blocked a Djimi Traoré shot when a rare passing move, concluding with a Smicer cross, set up the Frenchman after 30 minutes.

That proved the best opening of the first hour and a goalless draw was looming when Carragher nodded a Fabien Barthez punt back to Dudek after 64 minutes. The Pole's subsequent fumble, as both managers admitted, settled the game.

Anfield was horrified as United's fans sung a paean of praise to Dudek. Sadly for those with a sense of history it was not "Careless Hands", the old Des O'Connor number with which The Kop had greeted Gary Sprake's infamous howler in this ground three decades ago.

Three minutes later, with Dudek and his team-mates still reeling, Dietmar Hamann lost possession to Scholes in midfield. The ball went to Ryan Giggs, Hyypia failed to cut out his pass, and Forlan beat Dudek at the near post.

That seemed to be it, but a contretemps between Mikaël Silvestre and Murphy jump-started Liverpool's idling engine. Diouf and John Arne Riise came on and, with eight minutes left, Diouf held up Riise's long throw, enabling Hyypia to score.

A minute earlier Ruud van Nistelrooy, put clean through by Forlan, had stumbled over the ball. Had he scored Liverpool would have been humiliated, now it seemed they could be redeemed. Had Barthez not athletically tipped a 30-yard Hamann drive on to the bar, and Gerrard not pulled his injury-time shot wide, they would have been. Instead Houllier, his demeanour like a pall-bearer, was left to talk about confidence and belief, and the Anfield staff left to cheer Newcastle's recovery. Everton, at least, are still below Liverpool, but it might be a while before Arsenal are.

Goals: Forlan (64) 0-1; Forlan (67) 0-2; Hyypia (82) 1-2.

Liverpool (4-3-1-2): Dudek 2; Carragher 4, Henchoz 4, Hyypia 4, Traoré 4 (Riise, 78); Gerrard 3, Hamann 4, Murphy 6; Smicer 3 (Diouf 5, 70); Baros 4 (Heskey 5, 58), Owen 5. Substitutes not used: Kirkland (gk), Diao.

Manchester United (4-4-2): Barthez 6; G Neville 8, Brown 5, Silvestre 6, O'Shea 5; Solskjaer 5, Scholes 5, Fortune 5 (P Neville, 81), Giggs 5; Forlan 7 (Stewart, 90), Van Nistelrooy 4 (May, 89). Substitutes not used: Chadwick, Ricardo (gk).

Referee: A Wiley (Brentwood) 4.

Booked: Liverpool: Smicer. Manchester United: Van Nistelrooy, Brown, Forlan, Silvestre.

Attendance: 44,250.

Man of the match: G Neville.