In a feisty game at Anfield Daniel Sturridge continued his outstanding form with a poachers header after four minutes as Liverpool put in a strong defensive shift, sending a message of intent to their rivals.
The game underwent a lively start with United sending two dangerous crosses in within twenty seconds, but it was Liverpool who struck first. After careless play from Ashley Young, a Gerrard corner was headed towards goal by Agger with Sturridge getting the final touch.United almost hit back instantly with a Van Persie overhead kick clearing the cross bar. Their pressure continued, with a low Welbeck shot well saved before a corner flashed across the face of goal, missed by everyone.
Liverpool regained a foothold in the game with Daniel Sturridge skipping away from Ferdinand, a strong tackle required by Vidic to bring him to a halt. Shortly after a Gerrard free-kick was well held by De Gea.
As the pace began to drop, tensions rose as Jones fell to the floor injured and United were furious when Liverpool played on, a nasty tackle from Tom Cleverley ending this period of play and earning him a booking. This was followed by bookings for Aspas, Van Persie and Carrick.
The half continued on a knife edge and ended on a sour note as a coming together between Van Persie and Skrtel led to verbal exchanges between a number of players and could perhaps have ended with a red card for Van Persie.
United started brightly after the break but lacked any sort of cutting edge whilst Liverpool looked extremely solid defensively. Glen Johnson in particular seemed to be making a number of important blocks.
The game went into a lull as Liverpool successfully held out against a far from penetrating United attack but a weak Vidic pass-back nearly let Sturridge in as Liverpool looked to put the game out of sight.
Mignolet was called into action by Nani when a vicious shot was palmed away and Hernandez had
a shot easily saved but the best chance of the game came with two minutes of normal time remaining, when Hernandez played in Van Persie who shot well wide.
Sterling nearly killed off the game in stoppage time but his shot was well saved by De Gea. However, it did not matter, as Brendan Rogers side ended David Moyes' competitive unbeaten run as United manager, moving Liverpool to the top of the table.
Liverpool Player Ratings:
Simon Mignolet: 7 - Had little to do but performed well when called upon.
Glen Johnson: 8 - My Man of the Match with a brilliant defensive performance. Made Ashley Young look very average.
Martin Srktel: 7 - A solid display on what could be his last Liverpool game.
Daniel Agger: 7 - Got the assist for the goal and player well throughout.
Jose Enrique: 7 - Quiet but competent when he needed to be.
Lucas Leiva: 7 - The unsung hero had a fine game in midfield.
Steven Gerrard: 7 - A typically assured performance from the captain.
Jordan Henderson: 6 - Drifted in and out of the game but did little wrong.
Iago Aspas: 3 - A very poor game. Terrible passing accuracy and weak on the ball.
Philipe Coutinho: 6 - Didn't fully show what he was capable of.
Daniel Sturridge: 7 - Scored the winner but faded in the second half as United pressed on.
Substitutes:
Raheem Sterling: 6 - Wasn't on the ball much but had one shot saved in stoppage time.
Andre Wisdom: N/A - Came on too late.
Luis Alberto: N/A - Came on too late.
Manchester United Player Ratings:
David De Gea: 7 - Looked sharp to prevent a second goal. Could do nothing about the first.
Phil Jones: 6 - Looked solid until his early injury.
Rio Ferdinand: 5 - Struggled at times to deal with the creativity of Liverpool.
Nemanja Vidic: 6 - A weary backpass but otherwise okay.
Patrice Evra: 7 - One of United's few bright sparks. Linked well with Welbeck on the left.
Ryan Giggs: 5 - Looked his age in a rare poor performance from the veteran.
Tom Cleverley: 5 - Never got into the game and failed to make an impact.
Michael Carrick: 6 - Typically solid game from United's central midfielder.
Ashley Young: 4 - A disappointing return to the United team, his error led to the first goal.
Danny Welbeck: 7 - Constantly worked hard and caused Liverpool some problems.
Robin Van Persie. 5 - A quiet afternoon but missed a good chance at the end.
Subsitutes:
Antonio Valencia: 6 - Continues to look better than last season but still a long way to go.
Nani: 5 - Shows no signs of returning to form.
Javier Hernandez: 6 - Played a nice ball through to Van Persie and looked busy.
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