When Liverpool last travelled down the East Lancs Road to their theatre of nightmares, a performance of great promise went unrewarded thanks to a last-gasp header from Rio Ferdinand. Roll on the end of the season and that goal was to prove all the difference between the rivals as United edged Benitez? men into third spot. Bragging rights to Anfield, however, as the Reds went on to claim the FA Cup, dumping United out en route and leaving them with only the Carling Cup to show for a season?s toil. A cursory glance at the two teams? respective midfields was enough to confirm any United fan?s worst fears for the following season, with the future looking bright on Merseyside. Ferguson?s team have not so much improved as got the bit between their teeth, and this time round it was Ferdinand again who applied the coup de grace, only with a touch more aplomb, leaving Liverpool?s watching millions to wonder just where it had all gone so spectacularly wrong.

The bewildering away form that marked Benitez? first season in charge has come home to roost, and how. A first win on the road in the Champions League on Wednesday night was to prove little? other than that you clearly don?t need to be a great side to beat Bordeaux right now. Up until Sunday, Liverpool could at least claim to be winning the stats battle on previous Premiership road-trips this season, often pointing to the lion?s share of possession and attempts on goal in mitigation. Oh, and a pretty harsh fixture list too. But at Old Trafford there was to be no such comfort, and even the phoney war was lost from the off.

Perhaps not quite from the off, in fairness. For all of eight minutes Liverpool looked anything but a team struggling for form, surging forward with some menace and zipping the ball about with practised ease. And even once United had begun to assert themselves, with Saha particularly menacing, Liverpool remained in touch and played their part in what was to be an absorbing encounter for some forty minutes or so. Scholes? opener changed everything, not least Liverpool?s chances of fighting for this year?s crown. Liverpool?s entire day seemed a microcosm of their season to date. Benitez was to claim later, and quite rightly, that ?we were confident for the first half hour?. But half an hour?s worth of confidence is simply not enough and once the first goal had been conceded, the true state of Liverpool?s self-esteem was there for all to see? and it didn?t look good.

For all the incessant talk of rotation, rotation, rotation and where Gerrard should play, at the heart of the matter lies a chronic lack of belief. It?s a problem that has spread like a cancer throughout the entire side, with problems all over the pitch and very few players emerging from Sunday?s defeat with head held high. Benitez has gradually built his side up from the back, slowly but surely dealing with all the shortcomings of the squad he inherited. Now all of a sudden, it?s all gone wrong. Perhaps most worryingly of all, the team seemed as bewildered as the fans at times, giving little indication of knowing quite what was wrong or how to fix it. Reina at least was blameless for either goal and acquitted himself well when otherwise called on, and Kuyt spent much of his afternoon in splendid isolation.

Squad rotation is a hot potato that?s helping to sell the sports pages right now - how many times are we reminded that Benitez is approaching his 100th game without picking the same team twice in succession? A lot of success has been delivered in those 100 games, but a sticky run of away form has ensured an outbreak of mass amnesia in the ranks of the press. We?re told repeatedly that Rafa rotates all his players while Mourinho retains a crucial core ? Terry, Lampard etc. This is simply rubbish, as Benitez will retain at least Carragher, Finnan and Gerrard for each Premiership game when fitness allows. It was a largely unrotated defence that dithered on Sunday. The same back four managed a miserly 34 shutouts last season, but are now on the fast track to shipping 34 goals by Christmas this time around. During the second half, Alonso, Gerrard and Sissoko occasionally resembled three men introduced just five minutes before kick-off. As is so often the case when Liverpool struggle, they do it to themselves - possession was squandered all too often, with Sissoko leading the way. Sissoko?s progress has been stunning for one so young, to the extent that he can now be condidered indispensable in the post-Hamann era.

Early comparisons with Viera, however, don?t help. It?s a comparison arising from the incredible stamina levels and ball-winning abilities that both men undoubtedly possess, not to mention the rangy and imposing physique they share, but there the similarity ends. Viera excelled in bringing the ball from box-to-box at speed, helping his side turn defence to attack almost instantaneously. On a visit to Highbury a couple of years back, Spike Lee likened Arsenal to an NBA basketball team - and with Viera always ready to spring the trap, it was easy to see why. Sissoko?s ball-winning skills are close to matchless in the Premiership, but if it?s a role model he needs, he should look no further than Claud Makelele. Too often on Sunday he did what he does best only to be let down by reckless distribution. More than once he seemed to adopt the tactics of an NFL running back ? taking the loose ball and gaining the yards, looking for the first down before being swamped by red shirts. He has the boundless energy of youth, and the inexhaustible commitment to match, but a calmer head has to be the next step in his rapid and impressive development. Sissoko now stands on the brink of another automatic suspension, and Benitez? justifiable complaints of his player?s treatment by the officials seem like an echo down the years from a certain Arsene Wenger, whose erstwhile captain was also a frequent victim of poor refereeing.

Inexperience also hampered Liverpool on the left, with Mark Gonzalez showing promise but too often choosing the wrong option. In fairness, he had precious little support at times but still showed off his considerable potential with one piercing cross to Kuyt. The question marks hang, as ever, over the right-hand side of midfield. William Hill?s odds of 6-1 on Gerrard leaving in January seem morbidly premature, and though it wouldn?t be unfair to say he looked unhappy on Sunday, the hysteria over his role in the team spreads unabated. The debate never reached such a fever pitch last year, when a season spent largely on the right saw the captain find the net on 23 occasions. He has flourished on the right for his country. The argument goes that playing on the right-hand side of a 4-5-1 restricts him, but that argument fails to take into account one very simple fact ? Gerrard is not restricted to the touchline, or asked to play as an out-and-out winger. He remains free to come inside and wreak the havoc we?re so used to seeing him wreak.

The fact that he isn?t doing so at the moment is not down to the manager or where he plays him, but down to the fact that he himself is struggling for form (and possibly lacking some of his customary energy), a fact that seems unmentionable to the majority of journalists and TV pundits. When asked to play on the left against Boulahrouz at Stamford Bridge, he created opportunities he might have buried on last season?s form, and had he done so the tactic would never have been questioned. He frequently came inside on Sunday and indeed finished up in the middle of the park, and to what effect? Gerrard has yet to score this season for his club, yet was close to double figures at this stage last year. Can that really be down to tactics alone?

The culture says blame the manager of course, and one already senses that the vultures are circling. Benitez wisely made no promises on his arrival, no ?five year plan? was ever floated the board or to the supporters, and that may be just as well. Unlike his Gallic predecessor, Benitez is unlikely to hole up in his bunker like a dictator in denial of imminent defeat. He won?t insist on ?my way or no way?. He will instead learn, and carry on learning. He has proved time and time again his ability to do so. Last season?s victorious FA Cup odyssey was borne of dismal failure at in the mud at Turf Moor the previous year. The Miracle of Istanbul would surely have ended in humiliation had he not showed the vision and guts to rectify his own initial tactical errors at half time. The lesson now is the hardest one of all: the Premiership. And the nettle that needs grasping is this: you cannot play for the draw in this league - you have to play to win. Grind it out if you have to, win ugly if needs be, but go out to win. Damage limitation is simply unworkable in a league in which no team rolls over. Those days are long gone. But as Sir Alex looked for his handshake come three o?clock, Rafa?s head was already buried in his notebook. It may yet contain the answers.

Liverpool started this season as challengers-elect ? never a title they sought for themselves, but the press were keen. Following another burst of cup glories and seemingly shrewd investment, this was the to be season of the big push. But the Grail Quest looks set for another instalment next year. Whatever the players may say, they wanted it as much as we did. The importance of a decent start couldn?t have been emphasised more, and perhaps that self-inflicted emphasis has contributed to the damage done. The harsh defeat to Chelsea probably did the most damage, sowing the seeds of self-doubt that continue to sabotage the dream. Confidence always returns, but never quickly and Benitez faces a mountain of work to restore normal service if season-long fretting over Champions League places is to be averted. Last year?s league form proves a precedent ? the capability is there. The squad has since been improved, but perhaps only on paper, and Benitez may need yet more signings in his search for The Right Stuff.

Historically, winning league titles has proven to be the biggest and toughest step for many a team. In all likelihood Liverpool now have another year at least to negotiate this one small step. Only time will tell if it?s a giant leap.

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