Sir Alex Ferguson can smile again as Manchester United's best display under Louis van Gaal secures win at Liverpool

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They stood alongside each other, peering anxiously towards The Kop. As a sea of red and white jerseys jostled and pointed fingers, Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton never blinked.

Then, as referee Martin Atkinson restored order, Ferguson cracked. Turning to see who was on the row behind him in Anfield’s Directors Box, Ferguson could not help himself. Suddenly he was beaming, his smile born of elation and contentment: victory had been confirmed.

Winning at Anfield mattered more to Ferguson than anything else when he shaped Manchester United’s destiny and retirement hasn’t dulled the desire. That smile and subsequent tap on Charlton’s shoulder, told you everything about how he was feeling. 

Sir Alex Ferguson looked delighted by Manchester United's victory over Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday

Sir Alex Ferguson acknowledges United supporters upon his arrival for the game against Liverpool

Sir Bobby Charlton (centre) and Ed Woodward (left) were also at Anfield to see United win

Ferguson takes his seat at Anfield before United's game against Liverpool in the Premier League

Mind you, he wasn’t alone. Crammed into the Anfield Road end, 3,000 United fans were exultant, noisily acclaiming the finest performance of the Louis Van Gaal era: their team had not played with such panache and arrogance here since the mid-1990s. They were going to enjoy this.

‘We played them off the pitch in the first half, I think,’ Van Gaal mused afterwards. ‘It was the best 45 minutes (of the season). We scored a fantastic goal, we gave nothing away. It really was a superb first half. In the dressing room, I gave the players all my compliments.’

Van Gaal might have been less than impressed by what he in the second half but do not doubt how much satisfaction this win provided. As he walked out of Anfield later to catch the team bus, he stopped and took look around the famous old stadium. His contentment was beyond question.

As well it might have been. This was the afternoon when the Van Gaal masterplan started to come together. For all the Liverpool had shortcomings, the simple truth was that they couldn’t get near United and were lucky that only one goal separated them at the break.

All over the pitch, United players stood out like beacons. Phil Jones, for starters, was terrific in the centre of defence, keeping Daniel Sturridge under wraps for much of the game; Antonio Valencia personified diligence at right back.

It was in midfield, however, were United stamped their class. Maroune Fellaini dominated, setting an aggressive tone; Daley Blind was impressively solid while Ander Herrara passed the ball with purpose and precision, most devastatingly when he set Juan Mata free for the opening goal. 

Juan Mata (left) acrobatically scores United's second goal against Liverpool on Sunday

Mata (right) slots past Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet to give United the lead in the first half

Mata (left) applauds the United supporters at Anfield after securing the three points over Liverpool

Ander Herrera provided a sublime assist for Mata's opener for United in the 14th minute at Anfield

Ah, Mata. For large parts of the 15 months he has been at Old Traffford, you have wondered why they spent £37million on him – then you see how he played here, like when scoring that glorious second, and can understand why Michael Carrick called Mata “Little Magician”.

Ed Woodward, for one, was certainly impressed after he had exchanged passes with Angel Di Maria and capped the move with a bicycle kick that arrowed past Simon Mignolet.

‘What a goal!’ Woodward exclaimed, as he gave Charlton a hug.

Mata, by contrast, was slightly more circumspect.

‘In the last few months I’ve not had the best moments but I am the same player that I was when I came to England,’ he said. ‘I have the same passion, the same illusion, but it is the manager who decides. But obviously I’m happy because we played well in a very difficult game.’

Much has been spoken about United this year, largely about how they are a pale shadow compared to what has gone before. In some respects that is absolutely right: how many of this starting line-up would have got into the treble winning side of 1999? Probably only Wayne Rooney.

But time moves on and the 2014-15 squad are beginning to move in the right direction and what has been most impressive is the reaction they have produced since that chastening night against Arsenal two weeks ago when they were bounced out of the FA Cup.

A 3-0 demolition of Tottenham Hotspur followed by a win against their most bitter rivals has made fourth place United’s to lose and that will ensure Van Gaal has achieved the objective that he was set by Ed Woodward when arriving last summer.

‘We are coming back and we beat Liverpool again,’ said van Gaal. ‘We beat them with their own weapons and pressure on the ball. Now the gap is five points ahead of Liverpool and six ahead of Tottenham and Southampton so the moment to win is one of the most important in my career.’ 

United manager Louis van Gaal (centre) described the win as one of the most important of his career

United's players applaud their supporters after their 2-1 win against arch rivals Liverpool

 When he talks about points gaps, maybe Van Gaal should really be looking forward than studying what lurks behind. 

After all, they are only eight points behind league leaders Chelsea and there are still eight matches to play.

Manchester United to be league champions? Perhaps not this year. But why can’t they finish runners-up? Should Van Gaal’s play as they did at Anfield on the run to the line, nobody will enjoy to facing them. And that, more than anything, will give Ferguson reason to smile again.