United 2-1 LFC: The Opta stats
Opta statistics from Saturday's defeat at Old Trafford show how a battle for possession unfolded in the centre of the park with Steven Gerrard, Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes seeing much more of the ball than any of their respective teammates.
Liverpool's skipper clocked-up 101 touches and 87 passes while the opposing Manchester United pair hit a combined 194 and had 213 touches.
Liverpool had 10 shots on goal, just one fewer than their opponents, though United were more accurate when it came to getting their efforts on target (6-3).
Statistics show the Reds were prepared to try their luck from distance far more regularly than the home side. Kenny Dalglish's team fired in six shots from outside the box while Alex Ferguson's men made just one attempt from range.
In terms of distribution, the Manchester side hit 593 passes, 87.9 per cent of which were successful compared to Liverpool's 481 at an 81.7 per cent completion rate.
Rio Ferdinand was the most precise passer on the park with 94.6 per cent accuracy. Of the Liverpool players who played the full 90 minutes, Henderson ranked the highest with 86.7 per cent.
Both sides whipped in 16 crosses and both had an 18.8 per cent success rate.
Between the sticks, Pepe Reina was the busier of the two 'keepers, denying United on four occasions compared to David de Gea's two. United's stopper hit 21 passes with 57.1 per cent accuracy while exactly half of Reina's 14 clearances went to a Liverpool player.
Defensively, the winners were forced to make quite a few more clearances than Liverpool (28-17). Daniel Agger made eight interceptions as Jose Enrique completed six tackles, twice as many as any other player on the field.
Glen Johnson stood out in terms of attacking from the back, firing in three efforts on goal. United's midfield registered just one shot between them.
Only two yellow cards were shown on Saturday and they were for Downing and Carrick. Manchester United did not make a single substitute, Liverpool used all three available.
Click here to view a complete list of Opta stats from the game>>