LIVERPOOL - For the second season running, a close-range goal in front of the Kop proved enough to give Manchester United victory over Liverpool at Anfield.
Whereas John O'Shea's goal in the corresponding fixture came in stoppage time and spurred United on to the title, this time the first half was nearing its end when Carlos Tevez struck.
And while the Argentina forward's effort will not prove decisive in the championship race at this early stage, it has left United nine points in front of their fierce north-west rivals, who, after suffering their first defeat at Reading last week, have now lost their unbeaten home record too.
It is not the ideal backdrop to Rafael Benitez's crunch meeting with co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, although United, unbeaten in Premier League combat on this ground for six years now, will not care much about that.
Twelve months ago, Liverpool did everything but beat United, virtually battering their north-west rivals into submission before O'Shea popped up in the final minute to snatch victory.
The home fans must have endured an uneasy feeling of deja vu as they watched the opening period unfold.
What incisive football was played amid a frenzied atmosphere was all theirs. The chances fell the way of the men in red too. Unfortunately, the shots were either off target or failed to beat a United defender stood on the line.
Liverpool's efforts were assisted by a rare faltering performance from Edwin van der Sar, who twice had his attempts to take what looked like routine catches hindered by his own players.
On the first occasion, the veteran Dutchman ran into a crowd of United defenders as he tried to collect a Steven Gerrard free-kick that had been deflected high into the air.
Harry Kewell was on to the loose ball first but drove his volley straight at Anderson, who was still marshalling a post.
Fernando Torres, a man Ferguson tried to buy from Atletico Madrid on three separate occasions, should have finished off the rebound but, from six yards, nodded disappointingly wide.
Then, when Van der Sar came off worst in a collision with Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand's back header seemed destined to bounce into his own net until Patrice Evra raced back to clear.
Torres was off-target with a couple of efforts, as was Sami Hyypia.
Yet, for all the pressure, it was United who took the lead two minutes before the break as the Liverpool defence fell apart following a Ryan Giggs corner.
After failing to pick up Wayne Rooney on the edge of the area, Alvaro Arbeloa then remained rooted to the goalline as Liverpool pushed up hoping for an offside as the ball fizzed into the box.
Tevez was actually behind Pepe Reina as he scooped home his eighth goal of the season but with Arbeloa behind him, it did not matter and the Argentina forward wheeled away in celebration, the ball hitting virtually the same spot O'Shea had found in March.
For a very brief moment, it appeared Torres would level within a minute of the re-start as the United defence opened up in front of the Spain international.
The ball seemed to get stuck under his feet and before he could regain any momentum, Torres had been robbed.
It was the prelude for more sustained Liverpool pressure, which United countered by throwing their bodies in the way of anything vaguely threatening.
Ferdinand and Vidic were immense figures at the heart of the rearguard action, their efforts only made slightly easier by Dirk Kuyt's poor performance.
The Dutchman was totally ineffective, his contribution paling in comparison to Torres, even though he was not having one of his better days.
Crouch's introduction gave the Red Devils' overworked defence another problem to counter and another substitute, Ryan Babel, almost took advantage of the extra space when he skimmed a shot agonisingly wide of Van der Sar's left post.
Babel injected more life into the Liverpool attack but it was Rooney who would have saved the visiting fans an anxious final 10 minutes if he had not turned Ronaldo's low cross wide from eight yards.
