Liverpool fought gamely after the break but Cristiano Ronaldo and then Nani inflicted deeper wounds.

The tension in this 150th league meeting between England's two most successful clubs was palpable, cutting through the cold that had seen snow fall in Manchester overnight.

And the opening tackles were just as sharp. Scholes went in on Xabi Alonso and Ferdinand on Fernando Torres before Javier Mascherano went too far and was booked for cutting down Scholes.

In the midst of it all Wayne Rooney could have scored twice. First he got behind Jamie Carragher, whose tackle could easily have produced a penalty had the former Everton man gone down.

Instead Rooney kept his feet and forced Jose Reina into a save with his legs.

Then Scholes' lofted pass fell behind the Liverpool defence and Reina scooped the ball away from Rooney's rush into the box.