Manchester United’s Carlos Tevez (left) is challenged by Liverpool's Javier Mascherano during their Premier League match at Anfield on Sunday. United won 1-0. (Reuters)

Liverpool: Carlos Tevez scored on Sunday to give Manchester United a 1-0 win at Liverpool in the Premier League and extend their six-year unbeaten streak at Anfield.

The Argentina forward’s 43rd-minute goal from a corner also inflicted Liverpool’s second straight league defeat after an unbeaten start to the season. “It’s a marvellous day for us,” United manager Alex Ferguson said. “A good result and a good team performance and we had to show our discipline.”

Despite Liverpool’s dominating display, co-owners George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks watched yet another failure against their club’s fiercest rivals and the inability to capitalise on a string of errors by United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

The Americans were set to hold post-match talks with manager Rafael Benitez for the first time since publicly feuding over player transfers in recent weeks. “We didn’t take our chances and they had just one at the end of the first half,” Benitez said. “We know we needed to win this game if we wanted to be closer. Now for me, we know it’s a long way so we have to keep going.”

Benitez’s tactics were questioned last weekend when Liverpool slumped to a 1-3 loss at Reading. But the Spaniard retained the same players who beat Marseille 4-0 to secure a berth in the knockout round of the Champions League — just the third time in his three-year reign he has named an unchanged side.

United piled on the pressure late in the first half and scored from the game’s first clear-cut opening. Ryan Giggs sent a corner along the ground to Wayne Rooney, who was unmarked on the edge of the penalty area and passed to Tevez, who shot the ball into the roof of the net.

The most hyped fixture on the calendar wasn’t matched on the field as a nervy opening period saw possession easily lost, although the hosts appeared the more lethal.

Steven Gerrard was given an early opening to produce Liverpool’s first league win over United at Anfield in six years, but his third minute free-kick was cleared off the line by Nemanja Vidic and Sami Hyypia’s overhead kick lacked power.

Hyypia sent a speculative effort from 30 meters (yards) in the eighth, Fernando Torres misfired in the 12th and Gerrard saw another dead ball easily cleared in the 15th.

Harry Kewell seized on an error by Van der Sar’s error in the 27th, but Anderson cleared off the line and the Brazilian then successfully obscured Torres’ view of goal as he headed wide.

Three minutes later, Van der Sar gifted the Reds another chance, colliding with Vidic as he failed to clear Gerrard’s free-kick, which struck Rio Ferdinand’s back and edged toward goal until Patrice Evra scrambled a clearance.

Liverpool made a frantic start to the second half, with Torres and Gerrard carving out shots inside the opening minute.

But on a scrappy and tight afternoon, Liverpool couldn’t find the breakthrough to keep up with the pace at the top of the Premier League.

Gerrard shot wide in the 55th from Kewell’s cross, before Ryan Babel and Peter Crouch were brought on to inject more urgency into the attack.

Backed by a despairing crowd and fearing a repeat of the March scoreline, Babel shot wide in the 76th.

In the 90th, Crouch shaved the post with a weak shot and Gerrard floated a free-kick over.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson hailed the win as a significant step towards retaining the Premier League title.

“It was a massive win. I said beforehand, the games between the top sides would be significant and that is one today,” Ferguson told MUTV.

“If we are around the top in the first part of January we will have a real chance of winning the league. We will know we have a chance and we will know who our challengers are going to be.

“It wasn’t a smash and grab victory at all. We played the better stuff,” said Ferguson. “It was very frenetic, a typical Liverpool-Manchester United game. The crowd creates such fervour, it is very difficult for the referee to handle. There was a massive amount of free kicks, probably a record.

“When a team gets so many free kicks you always worry that one is eventually going to go in,” he added.

United have won six of their last seven league games against Liverpool since Benitez took charge at Anfield, however the Spaniard refused to rule his side out of the title race.

“It is too soon for the title. For me it is a long way. It will be harder, clearly. You need to be winning games in a row if you want to be closer,” Benitez told reporters. “This year all the teams can lose points so you can just think about the next game.”