When it is Liverpool and Manchester United, no opportunity is too good to pass up when it comes to taking malicious pleasure from your rival's discomfort. Rio Ferdinand – defender, cheerleader, wind-up merchant – encouraged Danny Welbeck to turn his back to the away end at the final whistle and pointed triumphantly at his team-mate's shirt. No prizes for guessing Welbeck's number on a day when United's supporters had armed themselves with gloating "19" banners.
Sir Alex Ferguson opted for a more subtle form of put-down, with a different target in mind. United, he said, had "played all the top teams now", as if it was a trick of the imagination that Manchester City, their opponents next weekend, are in the process of bulldozing a way to the forefront of English football. This was the weekend City climbed above United to the top of the league but – classic Ferguson – there was no recognition of City's new status, just as there will be precious few compliments from his side of the fence this week.
The general point Ferguson was trying to make was a genuine one, though, and it was that his team were emerging in a strong position from an opening run of fixtures that were challenging enough for Ferdinand, one pre-season evening in Seattle in July, to observe that "our enemies couldn't have picked it any better".
The derby against City means United will have played all five of the clubs who finished directly beneath them last season, in their opening nine games. They are unbeaten so far and Ferguson is entitled to consider they are in decent shape even if, deep down, he was disappointed by their performance at Anfield. In theory, things should get easier before the end of the year, with eight of their 10 opponents after this weekend currently in the bottom half of the table.
They should also have Wayne Rooney back against City, providing his mind is a little clearer of the turmoil that led to Ferguson removing him from Saturday's starting line-up. Nemanja Vidic is fit again for the first time since the opening weekend of the season. Tom Cleverley should be in contention, leaving only Rafael da Silva on the injury list, and the trip to Anfield also provided the clearest evidence yet that David de Gea has overcome the difficulties of earlier in the season.
"The game against Stoke [three weeks ago] was a pivotal moment for him," Ferdinand would later say of the Spaniard's improved goalkeeping. "There was a lot of pressure on him there in terms of people expecting things to go wrong because of the size of the opponents and how Stoke put pressure on the goalkeeper. He dealt with that game brilliantly and it was huge for him confidence-wise. He has just got better and better from there."
In turn, the picture has changed. Opposition players have stopped peppering him with hopeful long-distance shots because they realise now it is a futile exercise. There were no cries of "dodgy keeper" from the Kop, just long, anguished cries as he kept out everything bar the one moment when Ryan Giggs broke from the wall and Steven Gerrard scored with a free-kick through the gap.
"He made three huge saves," Ferdinand said. "I didn't notice a change in him after Stoke because he is not an emotional type of guy, or someone who is particularly animated, but he is showing now why the club spent so much money on him and went out to get him."
Here was a day when the animosity between Manchester United and Liverpool sank to a new low, with accusations of racist insults on the pitch. But amidst all the allegations and counter-allegations after the match, there was also the sight of Pepe Reina, Liverpool's goalkeeper, warmly embracing De Gea in the Anfield corridors.
"He made a couple of fantastic saves; it shows the potential of Spanish goalkeepers and we are very proud there are now two Spanish lads playing for Liverpool and Manchester United," Reina said. "He will have poor performances, like all of us, but he will have a lot of good ones as well. It is about finding consistency, but he will do that because he is a talent."
