The trouble with Manchester United was not so much that they lost; it was that they created so little. For all the noise made by Liverpool’s supporters and the endeavour of Rafael Benítez’s players, there was at least a point to be taken by a top-class side with the commitment to seize the day. But United waited for their supposed superiority to materialise.

As Sir Alex Ferguson conceded, amid his mixed bag of complaints about the referee’s decisions: “I think we let ourselves down with the penetration today.”

They hardly made a chance until Liverpool took the lead. In 64 minutes there had been only Wayne Rooney’s flicked header from a cross by Antonio Valencia to trouble Pepe Reina. Even then Ferguson waited nearly ten minutes before throwing on Michael Owen and Nani. The subsequent onslaught was too little, too late.

Chelsea, having beaten Blackburn Rovers 5-0 on Saturday to regain the Barclays Premier League leadership, could be imagined wickedly relishing the frustration of Owen as Jamie Carragher wrestled a goalscoring opportunity from his grasp — a yellow card was inadequate punishment — and of Valencia as his drive smacked the crossbar. That spell apart, United deserved their manager’s criticism.

Ferguson was even harder on the referee, mentioning Andre Marriner’s relative lack of experience much as he sought to question the fitness of Alan Wiley after United had been held to a draw at home by Sunderland.

It was mischievous and, again, ill advised. Ferguson was right morally in arguing that Carragher should have been sent off, but referees, sad to say, are hamstrung on this (as on too many matters) by foolish guidelines.

Marriner may have had in mind the one about the fouled player being too far from goal for certainty that a goalscoring opportunity would have occurred. In which case I wonder what he thought might have kept Owen, who won the Manchester derby from a not dissimilar position, from the whites of Reina’s eyes. A sudden fatigue? He had been on the pitch only 13 minutes.

Ferguson had less of a point in claiming that his side should have had a penalty when Carragher thwarted Michael Carrick; it looked a splendid tackle. But the United manager did admit that the better side won.

How does it affect the order of things in the league? True, United lost twice to Liverpool last season and took the title. But it is not a good habit and a greater sense of urgency certainly would have helped them to arrest the sequence yesterday.

The absence of Ferguson’s most urgent midfield player, the injured Darren Fletcher, might have been a factor. It was a poor midfield, with neither Paul Scholes (after a bright start) nor Carrick establishing a regular link with Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov, and Ryan Giggs being superbly monitored by Dirk Kuyt, a forward who knows how to defend.

Only Valencia sparkled, and he fitfully. On an occasion such as this, the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo is noticeable. Hard though the strikers worked, promisingly though they combined at times, there was a void behind them, an area that Javier Mascherano was only too plainly anxious to control.

It remains to be seen if the departure of Ronaldo will close the gap between United, who are seeking an unprecedented fourth English championship in succession, and a group of aspirants led by Chelsea. On Sunday week Ferguson takes his team to Stamford Bridge and that should give us a better idea, for Chelsea appear capable of staying on top, at least until they lose men to the African Cup of Nations in the new year.

Ferguson will want Fletcher back for that. When you throw in the memory of how they rued the suspension that kept the Scot out of the Champions League final in Rome, it seems strange that United have become so reliant on a player whom many of their supporters jeered for years.