Manchester Utd 2 Liverpool  0: Liverpool's damage-limitation tactics merely ensured their Premiership hopes were reduced to rubble.

As Manchester United eased themselves back to the top of the table it was clear the visitors, 11 points behind, are no nearer mounting a bid for the title. Despite their summer spending, it proves to be Alex Ferguson's team who are developing a challenge to Chelsea.

As if success over Liverpool were not enough, United could relish an opener by Paul Scholes, on his 500th appearance for the club, and a spectacular clincher by Rio Ferdinand. This kind of command is rejuvenating and the veteran Ryan Giggs capered boyishly past opponent after opponent inside the penalty area during one second-half surge.

There are no clues as to where Liverpool will discover revitalisation. Questioning of Rafael Benitez is approached tentatively, in view of achievements at Anfield and the Mestalla that have already made him one of the most prominent coaches of modern times; but you do wonder if tacticians, just like footballers, suffer from loss of form.

Travels in the Premiership keep taking Liverpool down dead ends. Four consecutive away fixtures in the league have now been lost and 380 minutes have passed since they scored a domestic goal on the road, their penalty equaliser at Sheffield United on opening day.

Dominant as United were, Liverpool kept on catching the eye in this defeat for the resounding wretchedness of their display. It was virtually an aberration that it could have been Benitez's team who scored first, when an unmarked Dirk Kuyt rose to a Mark Gonzalez cross after half an hour, but he bounced his header softly into the hands of Edwin van der Sar.

When United bubbled with initiative it underlined how inert Liverpool were.

As befitted a landmark occasion for the midfielder, Scholes' goal was absolutely characteristic. That it was so familiar must also be treated as an indictment of the opposition. As he glanced a header to Wayne Rooney in the 39th minute, either Sami Hyypia or Momo Sissoko could have stuck with him but did not. When Giggs laid a cross to the edge of the area, Pepe Reina could only half-block his finish and Scholes forced the ball into the net.

Ferdinand's finish was a show-stopper. Giggs crossed from the left and Jamie Carragher's challenge on Louis Saha helped the ball on towards the far post. It was tamed by the centre-half who then cut back inside John Arne Riise before sweeping a left-foot drive across Reina and high into the net.

This was a moment of euphoria, particularly since verve like that is supposed to be alien to a defender, but it probably would not have mattered if Ferdinand had perpetrated a terrible scuff.

Any lead would have been irrecoverable when Liverpool conducted themselves like this.

United might have scored on other occasions, particularly when the roving Saha was at his most animated prior to the interval and drew an outstanding save from Reina with a 20-yarder in the 42nd minute.

United impressed in a variety of ways. Cristiano Ronaldo was kept on the bench because of illness, but the comparatively staid Darren Fletcher made the most of his opportunity to appear instead. He was energetic, dependable in his distribution and showed the occasional touch of menace that comes from a player having his best season at the club.

No such contentment exists at Liverpool, for whom all days are currently off-days when they have to travel in the Premiership. The focus has generally been on Benitez's constant alterations to the line-up, but his battle plan for the side was a greater worry at Old Trafford. He had two holding players and a trio of other midfielders ahead of them, yet their presence was never felt in the centre of the pitch, where only United's passes had a purpose.

Liverpool had no means to go on the attack, and despite the numbers in midfield, no sense of security either. Steven Gerrard gave a miserable showing towards the right and it was perverse that a more central role could be assigned to the typically mundane Louis Garcia.

The attendance of 75,828 was the largest ever to watch United at Old Trafford. The home fans saw a solid win, with the promise of better to come. It can only have been loyalty that stopped Liverpool followers from turning their backs.

• Guardian Service