Cristiano Ronaldo has been suffering from ‘flu all week, and Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson decided to put him on the bench from the start. Darren Fletcher took his place in the United line-up.
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez started the match with a single striker, Dirk Kuyt, but later in the match Peter Crouch came on.
Paul Scholes celebrated his 500th appearance for Manchester United this afternoon by scoring their first goal, in the 39th minute.
Rio Ferdinand made it 2-0 in the 67th minute, when he scored his first goal since scored an injury-time winner against Liverpool last season.
Teams:
Manchester United:
Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Rooney, Saha. Subs: Kuszczak, Brown, Ronaldo, Solskjær, O’Shea.
Liverpool:
Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypiä, Riise, Gonzalez, Sissoko, Alonso, Gerrard, Garcia, Kuyt. Subs: Dudek, Paletta, Crouch, Pennant, Warnock.
