Manchester United kept pace with Arsenal and Chelsea with this hard fought win against Rafa Benitez's Spanish Armada.

Wayne Rooney was the hero for the Red Devils when his speculative twenty-five yard effort on twenty-two minutes deceived Jerzy Dudek in the Liverpool goal.

Manchester United secured the league double against Liverpool minus the services of Wes Brown who was dismissed by Rob Stiles on sixty-five minutes for a dubious second bookable offence.

All the team news surrounded the Manchester United camp with some notable inclusions and absentees. Roy Carroll fresh from his part in the goal that never was against Tottenham Hotspurs returned in goal for Tim Howard. Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Wes Brown were all included in the starting lineup as Sir Alex Ferguson had to make do minus the services of Rio Ferdinand, Alan Smith and long-term injury victim Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

Rafa Benitez named his two latest additions to his Spanish Armada starting lineup as Pellegrino and Morientes were handed debuts. This ensured Wes Brown and Mickael Silvestre would have a busy afternoon dealing with Milan Baros and Morientes.

Liverpool dominated the early stages, but were stunned when United were gifted the lead by Liverpool goalkeeper Dudek. Wayne Rooney cut in from the left and tried his luck from 25 yards, Dudek appeared to have the shot covered but somehow let it slip behind him into the net.

It was the latest calamitous error by Dudek against United, following mistakes that gave Diego Forlan two goals at Anfield two seasons ago and errors when Giggs was on target in their victory last term.

The crossbar prevented United from doubling their advantage seven minutes later when a spectacular dipping drive by Keane hit the woodwork and bounced to safety.

Manchester United were enjoying a good period of pressure at this point with the Liverpool rearguard struggling to cope with the long ball over the top which forced Dudek to rescue his defenders with last ditch clearances from his penalty area.

Liverpool's momentum had been halted by the goal, but there was a fleeting glimpse of Morientes' aerial ability two minutes before the interval, when he rose to meet Luis Garcia's cross but was off target. This was the only bright spot for Morientes in a disappointing debut.

There was a potential turning point after 64 minutes when Brown was shown the red card for a second bookable offence, this time for a reckless challenge on John Arne Riise. It was a bit harsh on Brown considering the tackles that had flown in prior to his costly tackle, a point firmly stated by United players to Rob Stiles.

Sir Alex Ferguson immediately made a change, sending on John O'Shea for Cristiano Ronaldo. And as the temperature rose, Rooney was booked for taking a kick at Garcia after a tackle. Rob Stiles had the Liverpool jersey at this moment until the end of the game, consistently giving 50/50 decisions to the hosts as time wore on.

However, for all the help Stiles could give to the hosts, Roy Caroll restored after "the goal that never was" against Spurs at Old Trafford only had to make one save in the closing stages from Jamie Carragher's shot from the edge of the area after Gerrard's free-kick.

With four minutes of injury time played, Rob Stiles decided he had seen enough and blew the final whistle. Fergie will be pleased with the result as it keeps the side in the hunt for league honours.

However, Rafa Benitez will not be pleased with the performance. His key players never performed on the day with Gerard, Morientes, Baros all struggling to make an impact.

The Spanish boss will also be concerned with his back four on duty. Pellegrino had a debut to forget as he was constantly caught out for pace against Saha and Ronaldo. Hyppia and Carragher did not look comfortable dealing any ball over the top, which begs the question why Henchoz is an outcast in the Liverpool squad.

If that was enough problems to our best mate Rafa, he must be scared to deal with the goalkeeping situation at the club. Dudek once again was horrific against the Red Devils and his contribution for Rooney's goal could spell the end of his career at Liverpool. He made Carroll's espidoe against Tottenham look minor - expect Rafa to buy a goalkeeper in this transfer window.