Manchester United vs. Liverpool: 7 Things Utd Learned at Old Trafford

Did you hear? A football match broke out Saturday at Old Trafford.

That's right. Wayne Rooney scored twice for Manchester United, Luis Suarez scored once for Liverpool, and United beat Liverpool 2-1 in the latest edition of English football's most storied rivalry.

But you don't want to read about that, do you? Alright, then. Here goes.

Liverpool's Suarez snubbed Manchester United's Patrice Evra as the teams lined up for pre-match handshakes. United's Rio Ferdinand then snubbed Suarez in the handshake line before a mini-brawl erupted in the tunnel at halftime.

After the match, Evra celebrated—conveniently, right in front of Suarez—as if he'd just received a World Cup winner's medal. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson called Suarez a "disgrace," and Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish did his best Arsene Wenger impression and claimed he didn't see the incident.

All of this, you'll recall, stems from an ugly incident during the two teams' first league match this season, an incident that earned Suarez an eight-match ban. And all of this gives us plenty to talk about for the next few days.

But let's not forget the true importance of Saturday's game. United's win puts them—momentarily, at least—atop the table, one point ahead of Manchester City. With 14 matches to go, the title race is white-hot, and with momentum on United's side, only a brave man would bet against them.

With all that in mind, here are seven things United learned from Saturday's 2-1 win over Liverpool.

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Ferguson Is Right

Alex Ferguson is right. Luis Suarez is a disgrace. And it's time for Kenny Dalglish, his players and Liverpool's fans to stop defending him.

Suarez was wrong in refusing to shake Patrice Evra's hand. Period. So wrong, in fact, that it seems almost unnecessary to say it.

But it's true, even if you think Suarez's ban was too long (it wasn't), and even if you think Evra should have left what's said on the field, on the field (though he was right to speak up). Wrong is wrong.

Dalglish claimed not to have seen the incident. Maybe he didn't, but he surely saw whatever happened in the tunnel at halftime, and he certainly saw what happened after the final whistle.

Whether or not Evra was wrong to celebrate the way he did is immaterial. Suarez was wrong in the first place when he racially abused Evra back in October. He compounded it by refusing to shake Evra's hand Saturday.

Dalglish and Suarez's defenders are only making a delicate situation worse with their refusal to accept reality.

The reality is this: When you're wrong, you're wrong. Suarez and his supporters are wrong.

Evra Was Right. And Wrong.

It's an interesting concept, really: Revenge by way of celebration.

Interesting, and effective. After all, what better way to get back at the person who wronged you than by letting out a display of genuine, unbridled joy? The best revenge, as the saying goes, is living well.

In that sense, Patrice Evra was in the right with his euphoric celebration. He took it one step too far, though, by planting himself directly in the path of Luis Suarez's post-match walk of shame.

If Alex Ferguson is going to say that Suarez's actions could have caused a riot (and Ferguson may be right about that), he also needs to acknowledge that Evra's could have done the same.

And that's a shame, too, because until that moment, Evra truly had gotten the best of his tormentor by killing him with kindness.

It's Wayne's World…

…and we're all just living in it. At least it is when he plays like he did Saturday.

Wayne Rooney marked his 350th appearance for Manchester United with two well-taken goals, but that was only part of the story. His workrate was impressive, as were his passing, link-up play and combinations.

After last week's immense showing—in which his two penalties sparked United's three-goal comeback—Rooney turned in a man-of-the-match performance in which he was clearly the best player on the pitch.

The nation of England must be collectively gnashing their teeth over his two-game suspension at the start of Euro 2012.

Top of the Heap. And Rising?

Don't look now, but United are back on top of the English Premier League table, right back where they seem to finish every season. They'll stay there until at least Sunday, when Manchester City travel to Aston Villa.

To use a highly scientific metric, United's current position is about 37 gazillion miles from where it could have been, considering their plight five minutes into the second half last Sunday.

Fifty minutes into their trip to Stamford Bridge, United trailed Chelsea 3-0. The logical conclusion of that match should have left the Red Devils five points adrift of Manchester City and reeling from a devastating defeat. Instead, they managed to conjure a draw, and with it, a potential rallying point for the stretch run.

Now they're back atop the table, and while it's too soon to say for sure that the Chelsea fight-back will turn into some kind of mystical, season-altering moment, it really isn't out of the question.

That's just it with United, though, isn't it? Even when dropping points on the road, they turn it into a game-changer. That's the kind of trick teams learn from being in title races year-in and year-out. And it's the kind of trick that just might result in yet another trophy in the crowded Old Trafford case.

Age Is Just a Number

Ryan Giggs, age 38, put in a tidy 90 minutes in United's midfield, supplying excellent service from the left and drifting into his more favored central role often to provide support.

Paul Scholes, age 37 and until last month retired from football, more than held his own in the middle of the park among children 10 or more years his junior.

It goes to show that for Manchester United, age is merely a number. Giggs and Scholes were two of United's top performers on Sunday (though the top honors must go to Rooney, Antonio Valencia and Jonathan Evans), and what's more, that's becoming the norm.

In a season that has featured plenty of injury woe for United's midfield, Alex Ferguson's two golden oldies (at one time they were members of his golden generation of youngsters, mind you) have been among the team's most valuable contributors.

If United do indeed win the title yet again, a special thank you must be reserved for Giggs and Scholes, who weigh in at a combined age of 75.

De Gea Is Making Progress

David De Gea has experienced a roller-coaster of emotions since arriving at Old Trafford last summer. After all the ups and downs, though, he's all United's got at the moment, thanks to the extended injury-induced absence of rival Anders Lindegaard.

United fans must be happy, then, to have seen De Gea perform well Saturday. In an otherwise mostly untroubled afternoon, the Spanish stopper did well to tip Glen Johnson's howitzer blast over the bar late in the second half.

Replays showed that the ball could have been heading over the bar—or onto, or even into the goal. If we couldn't tell, neither could De Gea. So while he could have gambled and let it go, he instead reacted correctly and parried the ball out for a corner.

It was by no means a world-class save (though his stop on Juan Mata last week was), but after some of the heartache De Gea has put United through this season, it was a bit of welcome progress.

Viva Valencia

Simply put, Antonio Valencia was outstanding for United on Saturday. The Ecuadorian winger may have been his team's most lively player, Rooney included.

Valencia clearly relished playing the role of United's only true wide attacker, and he thrived in it. He capped an excellent performance with an assist—preceded by his midfield mugging of Jay Spearing—on Rooney's second goal.

That the combination of Rooney and Valencia provided the match-winner should be no surprise. Along with the clever Danny Welbeck, they were the most creative attackers on the pitch.