Steven Gerrard admitted he was delighted to ram Manchester United's taunts back down their throats after he netted his first Liverpool goal at Old Trafford.
Gerrard thumped home the penalty which handed Liverpool the lead before they romped to a stunning 4-1 victory at the home of the Premier League champions and leaders.
And Gerrard admitted: "I have been lucky enough to experience winning here before but to score was nice - after all the stick I've had from Man United fans over the last 10 years, it was good to rub it in a bit.
"It is not often you see United getting beaten 4-1 at home - and hopefully this result will give other teams belief and prove to them that United are not unbeatable.
"They are a great team with great players, that is why they have been on such a great winning run, but we put in a great performance and the confidence is growing throughout all our side."
Liverpool had hammered Real Madrid 4-0 in the Champions League just four days earlier - but Rafa Benitez insists he will only be satisfied by winning trophies, not by emphatic individual results.
The Anfield chief said: "It's been a good week but the best weeks are when you win trophies. Beating Real Madrid and Man United are just two battles in the war.
"It is always very difficult to beat United and to score four goals against them is even more difficult but we have showed what can be done against them." Liverpool are still four points behind United, who have a game in hand. But Benitez said: "I am always realistic, but I'm optimistic too. I know United are still in a very strong position but in football anything is possible, so we could win every game.
"We've shown that United can be beaten if you contain them and keep things tight."
Asked about Sir Alex Ferguson's claim that United had been the better side, Benitez insisted the result was everything.
Benitez said: "Sometimes you are the better team and you win, sometimes you are the better team and you lose - but 1-4 is all that matters.
"After the first 30 minutes, I thought we played well and deserved the result. I'm very proud and pleased for the players, the fans and the club - but we have to continue with this form."
Ferguson promised his United side will bounce back. The Manchester United boss was clearly shellshocked after watching his side take a 22nd-minute lead through Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty - then concede four goals as Liverpool roared back through, Fernando Torres, Gerrard, Fabio Aurelio and Andrea Dossena.
Ferguson, who saw Nemanja Vidic sent off for a professional foul on Gerrard after 75 minutes, was defiant later, saying: "It's a hard one to take, but at this club it's always about how you respond. And we will, in the right way.
"It was one of those days. We made uncharacteristic mistakes and in big games you don't want to do that. If you see the consistency of our defending over the last two years, you don't expect it.
"But if the League was starting today I would take a four-point start.
The goal difference has narrowed to five but we have to kick on.
"We accept it was a bad day in terms of the goals we lost but I couldn't fault the display that much.""
Ferguson bizarrely claimed United were the better side - but he was critical of poor defending from his side who have built their challenge for five trophies this season on a mean back four. He said: "In terms of defending the last couple of years we didn't expect that kind of performance, and neither did the players.
"I thought we were really the better team but the scoreline didn't reflect that.
"But that's the name of the game, and when you win 4-1 at Old Trafford you deserve all the plaudits and you can't deny them that."
Ferguson refused to hammer Vidic, who gifted Fernando Torres an equaliser in a poor personal display by the Serbian.
"Nemanja has been unbelievably consistent for us this season. Players do have off-days," added Ferguson.
"He's a human being, all players make mistakes. It's just that this was a costly one for us."
And he had no complaints about Vidic's dismissal, saying: "It looked as if Gerrard was clear to have a shot at goal.
"Whether Rio could have got across, I don't know, but I couldn't really argue with the decision. We'd have been looking for a red card if it was against us.
"One or two of the players were a bit short in terms of what we expect but in general the football was good.
"The players kept driving on and showed good energy considering we only had two and a half days to prepare after Inter Milan."
Gerrard thumped home the penalty which handed Liverpool the lead before they romped to a stunning 4-1 victory at the home of the Premier League champions and leaders.
And Gerrard admitted: "I have been lucky enough to experience winning here before but to score was nice - after all the stick I've had from Man United fans over the last 10 years, it was good to rub it in a bit.
"It is not often you see United getting beaten 4-1 at home - and hopefully this result will give other teams belief and prove to them that United are not unbeatable.
"They are a great team with great players, that is why they have been on such a great winning run, but we put in a great performance and the confidence is growing throughout all our side."
Liverpool had hammered Real Madrid 4-0 in the Champions League just four days earlier - but Rafa Benitez insists he will only be satisfied by winning trophies, not by emphatic individual results.
The Anfield chief said: "It's been a good week but the best weeks are when you win trophies. Beating Real Madrid and Man United are just two battles in the war.
"It is always very difficult to beat United and to score four goals against them is even more difficult but we have showed what can be done against them." Liverpool are still four points behind United, who have a game in hand. But Benitez said: "I am always realistic, but I'm optimistic too. I know United are still in a very strong position but in football anything is possible, so we could win every game.
"We've shown that United can be beaten if you contain them and keep things tight."
Asked about Sir Alex Ferguson's claim that United had been the better side, Benitez insisted the result was everything.
Benitez said: "Sometimes you are the better team and you win, sometimes you are the better team and you lose - but 1-4 is all that matters.
"After the first 30 minutes, I thought we played well and deserved the result. I'm very proud and pleased for the players, the fans and the club - but we have to continue with this form."
Ferguson promised his United side will bounce back. The Manchester United boss was clearly shellshocked after watching his side take a 22nd-minute lead through Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty - then concede four goals as Liverpool roared back through, Fernando Torres, Gerrard, Fabio Aurelio and Andrea Dossena.
Ferguson, who saw Nemanja Vidic sent off for a professional foul on Gerrard after 75 minutes, was defiant later, saying: "It's a hard one to take, but at this club it's always about how you respond. And we will, in the right way.
"It was one of those days. We made uncharacteristic mistakes and in big games you don't want to do that. If you see the consistency of our defending over the last two years, you don't expect it.
"But if the League was starting today I would take a four-point start.
The goal difference has narrowed to five but we have to kick on.
"We accept it was a bad day in terms of the goals we lost but I couldn't fault the display that much.""
Ferguson bizarrely claimed United were the better side - but he was critical of poor defending from his side who have built their challenge for five trophies this season on a mean back four. He said: "In terms of defending the last couple of years we didn't expect that kind of performance, and neither did the players.
"I thought we were really the better team but the scoreline didn't reflect that.
"But that's the name of the game, and when you win 4-1 at Old Trafford you deserve all the plaudits and you can't deny them that."
Ferguson refused to hammer Vidic, who gifted Fernando Torres an equaliser in a poor personal display by the Serbian.
"Nemanja has been unbelievably consistent for us this season. Players do have off-days," added Ferguson.
"He's a human being, all players make mistakes. It's just that this was a costly one for us."
And he had no complaints about Vidic's dismissal, saying: "It looked as if Gerrard was clear to have a shot at goal.
"Whether Rio could have got across, I don't know, but I couldn't really argue with the decision. We'd have been looking for a red card if it was against us.
"One or two of the players were a bit short in terms of what we expect but in general the football was good.
"The players kept driving on and showed good energy considering we only had two and a half days to prepare after Inter Milan."
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