The difference between the teams, not just on Saturday but throughout the season, is undoubtedly the attacking options. Until the 91st minute, Ronaldo’s party tricks had little impact. One deliciously whipped free-kick later and he’d engineered the winning goal. Call it luck if you want, but it isn’t. World class players tend to deliver when it matters most. The more you have of them, the more you benefit from such decisive flashes. If he was a Liverpool player, and the fact he could have been four years ago is a calamity, the gap wouldn’t be 19 points. Where United have Ronaldo, Liverpool still have no world class wingers. Where United have Rooney, Liverpool have honest, worthy strikers, but none who fill opponents with the same sense of dread. Just like the recent derby, and until the winner this game panned out in identical circumstances, Liverpool’s sense of injustice was undermined by the acknowledgement their best performers were in defence. Jamie Carragher and Daniel Agger kept Rooney in check and didn’t deserve to miss out on a tenth successive clean sheet at Anfield. The midfield was less effective. When Momo Sissoko learns to keep his passing repertoire to the six-yard simple ball to a team mate, he’ll erase the weakness from his game. Steven Gerrard threatened to take control on several occasions but was needed out wide again, while Paul Scholes lost it when his right hook aimed at Xabi Alonso was an inch from turning a three-match suspension into an end of season holiday. There was a lot to admire about Liverpool’s play, but the deficiencies are inescapable. United’s capacity for inflicting late heartache on Liverpool has turned into a recurring nightmare. Cantona in 96, Solksjaer in 99, Ferdinand in 2006 and now John O’Shea in 2007 have exposed how the stereotype of the ‘thieving scousers’ ought to be geographically re-assessed and moved 35 miles down the M62. If United go on to win their 16th title, they’ll look back to when O’Shea found the top of Pepe Reina’s net as a pivotal moment in the season. On the day, even Ferguson had the decency to admit they were fortunate. But hard as it is to accept, if they win the league from here, deep down, we all know luck has very little to do with it. | 
