Manchester United slay Liverpool again in yet another battle for pride in English football

 Manchester United 3-0 Liverpool

Raheem Sterling's 30th minute golden chance wasted after a fine save by De Gea

A painful miss and a superb finish separated the sides within the space of 25 seconds of display. Liverpool's Sterling made a huge mistake when he had a clear chance to put his side in front, and within 25 seconds, Rooney who was chasing Sterling before he made the horrible miss made it a goal for Manchester United. 

Wayne Rooney was the player closest to Raheem Sterling before he made the blunder

This sort of shows the old saying that there is a thin line between failure and success. The difference between Manchester United and Liverpool in English football is a simple cutting edge; with the two sides having similar  level of growth but Manchester United simply showing why they are ahead of Liverpool.

Wayne Rooney scoring for United at the 55th minute after Sterling's loss 25 seconds earlier

The unstable play of Liverpool have shown the vacant position left by Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge remains unfilled. This is a contrast to the ray of experienced players that Manchester United had. United had Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie, and Juan Mata in the starting lineup while  Radamel Falcao and Adnan Januzaj were on the bench, with Di Maria out injured. 

Wayne Rooney celebrating with his teammates after his goal

Liverpool had an impressive start, but their lack of finishing and confidence from players like Sterling who got a slipped ball that got to him from Lallana, made their performance very lacklustre.

United got their first goal from Rooney who got a  pass from Antonio Valencia after the Columbian nutmegged Joe Allen and was left alone in the box before he gave Rooney the pass who wasted no time in finishing the task just as his former colleague Paul Scholes would have done. 'A clear display of class'.

Wayne Rooney feeling like a king as he was being assisted from the ground by James and Van Persie after celebrating his goal

At the end of second half, Liverpool were already trailing with two goals after Juan Mata headed the ball from Van Persie's flick into an unguarded net. By this time, old Trafford was already in an ecstatic mood.

Juan Mata heading the ball into an unguarded net

The introduction of Mario Baloteli who replaced Lallana at the start of the second half didn't help Liverpool's situation as De Gea was too good at what he does best. He stopped all the shots that came towards the net.

 

Mario Baloteli tugging on Van Persie's shirt

Liverpool woes were compounded at the 71th minute when Rooney made a cross, only for Dejan Lovren to make a horrible mess of the clearance with no pressure on him. He played the ball straight to Mata, who wasted no chance in putting Van Persie on the overlap through the right. 

Robin Van Persie made it three as United edge closer to a title-chasing position on the EPL table