Liverpool 2 Manchester United 1: 5 Things We Learned About United

After taking a big scalp in the third round of the FA Cup, United were bested in the fourth round by Liverpool.

United went 1-0 down after twenty minutes following Dan Agger's goal from a Liverpool corner, but only until Park put United level on 39 minutes with an accurate half volley from 12 yards. Kuyt stole the winner two minutes from time to leave it 2-1 to Liverpool, knocking United out of the cup.

But what have we learned about United today? Let me share a few points which I've earmarked.

Lindegaard Is Man United's Number One... For Now

As a firm member of Team David de Gea, I was pleased to see he had made the team sheet for today's game. Following his last performance against Liverpool, I was convinced that this would be the prime opportunity for him to stake his claim as United's number one.

Unfortunately I was disappointed. While he started the match well, it all went downhill very quickly. Early on he looked very weak at set pieces, more specifically corners. Andy Carroll and Martin Kelly both did a good job of making sure that DDG didn't see anything of the incoming ball, and de Gea showed absolutely no command or will to get them out of his way. This lead to Liverpool's first goal.

Another issue was his distribution. He began well, starting a couple of attacking moves with great throws, but as the game went on, he seemed to get either too lax or somewhat nervy. One particular incident involved a poor pass that was easily intercepted by Stewart Downing, which Jonny Evans was forced to clear up.

While De Gea is undoubtedly a fantastic prospect for the future, United should put their eggs in Lindegaard's basket for the remainder of the season for fear of ending up potless.

The Oldies Are Still Golden

United started a fairly aged midfield today—inclusive of Michael Carrick, Park Ji-Sung (both 30), Paul Scholes (37) and Ryan Giggs (38)—however they put on a passing clinic in the centre of the park today.

While United had possession in the middle, the veterans passed around coolly and calmly as Liverpool chased the ball. One thing that particularly impressed me was the accuracy of the passing headers played between the midfielders.

I was skeptical when I saw the team sheet this morning, thinking that the aged midfield would get ripped to shreds by the athleticism of some of the Liverpool midfielders, however United's veterans definitely held their own in the middle of the park.

Michael Carrick Is Getting More and More Confident Going Forward

Since the return of Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick has seemed a lot more confident attacking, and he further exhibited this today.

Carrick had gone almost two years without a goal until he scored against QPR back in December, and he doubled his tally for the season against Bolton two weeks ago. Now that Carrick has got a taste for goals, he seems to be going forward a lot more, and he will undoubtedly feel reassured by the fact that Scholes is holding the midfield for him, a role he previously occupied.

Carrick had a couple of shots from outside the area today, both going wide, but it is great to see the midfielder making a good attacking contribution.

He also made an excellent pass that cut through the Liverpool defence to put Danny Welbeck one-on-one with Pepe Reina, which the young English starlet unfortunately could not convert.

Danny Welbeck Is Getting a Little Overconfident

Danny Welbeck has been among the goals recently, and prior to the game you would have bet on him to score (which I did, to my detriment). However, he didn't make much of an impact on today's game.

He was United's hero against Arsenal last weekend, and he seemed to be riding the wave of that confidence a little too much during this game. He took a "shoot on sight" mentality to the game and fired off a number of shots from outside the box or on the volley that went disastrously over or wide. On most of these occasions there was a pass option available, but he seemed to have a tunnel vision for the goal, which would have been fine had United been two or three goals up, but they were not.

If he's to retain the first team place he has established in the United side, then he will need to be a lot less selfish in front of goal and make better decisions when it comes to taking a shot or not. He won't get away with this as much when Wayne Rooney's back.

Sir Alex Needs to Spend in the Next Couple of Days

I understand Ferguson's motives for not spending in January, however it may be time for him to swallow a little bit of pride and open the chequebook.

While it was a great signing for the nostalgics, and he is slowly demonstrating that he can still be an active member of the United squad, the addition of Paul Scholes alone will not do a lot to the Red Devils' title hopes.

The injury crisis at Old Trafford this season has definitely damaged the team's title and cup hopes, however it definitely isn't too late to salvage something. A centre-back is desperately needed to fill the hole Nemanja Vidic has left, mainly so United can avoid playing Jonny Evans, who somehow still manages to find a place in the first team. Chris Samba looks likely to be leaving Blackburn in the next couple of days, and he could be great cover at an affordable price.

An athletic goalscoring midfielder would also be a good addition—someone like Clint Dempsey would fit the bill perfectly and could be available for a decent price.