Manchester United 2 Liverpool 1: match report With the biliousness dial now turned up to 11, the first half was largely forgettable. Maybe the players could not concentrate on the requirements of the match, diverted as they were by the politics. Liverpool, with Spearing and Gerrard shielding their defence, played deep and conservative. For some reason eschewing the muscular approach that had unsettled United's keeper at Anfield a fortnight before, they played with Suarez on his own up front. A swift break from the South American, terminated by Ferdinand's lunging challenge, was the sum of their attacking enterprise. But then United, despite the occasional flourish from Rooney, Valencia and the excellent Welbeck, offered little more. This was a half featuring more square balls than a convention of Lego men. And then, just before the break, Suarez, who had been playing as if the world was conspiring against him, the pout of his bottom lip visible from the stands, booted the ball at Valencia after the whistle for time had sounded. In the tunnel, as the players made their way to the dressing rooms, there was an extended altercation between Suarez and several United players, led by their skipper Evra. The police intervened. And those who admire this game sighed at the woeful pettiness of it all. What a relief, then, that something approaching a match broke forth in the second half. United, comfortably ahead and comfortable on the ball, maintained possession and control. Scholes and Giggs, the oldest midfield combination in town, pulled the strings; Rooney looked in the mood to win it on his own. But comfortable is what Chelsea thought they were last weekend. And an excellent finish by - much to the pleasure of visiting fans - Suarez after a Charlie Adam freekick was not properly dealt with by the United defence made the last ten minutes more nervy for the home side than they might have been. Indeed, it was only another fantastic save by De Gea from Johnson's sharp long range shot in injury time that preserved the points for United. Oh, and just for the record, Evra didn't shake Suarez's hand after the final whistle. He did a merry, celebratory jig round the entire ground instead.