Manchester United won for the sixth match in a row this afternoon as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over bitter rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford.

The hosts took the lead through Wayne Rooney in the first half, while Juan Mata added a contentious second shortly before the break.

Liverpool threatened to find a way back into the match with a number of chances throughout, but Robin van Persie put the game beyond the visitors shortly after Mario Balotelli had hit the crossbar.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at whether the Red Devils were worthy of the three points.

Match statistics

MAN UTD
Shots: 11
On target: 6
Possession: 55%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 13

LIVERPOOL
Shots: 19
On target: 9
Possession: 45%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 14

Was the result fair?

There aren't often question marks over whether a team deserve a victory if they run out 3-0 winners, but things could have been a lot different this afternoon. Liverpool created enough chances to win this game, but they came up against a goalkeeper in inspired form and simply could not find a way past him.

The main difference between these two sides was the ruthlessness in front of goal, with United taking their chances while Liverpool squandered theirs. That can largely be put down to United naming a side full of natural finishers, while Liverpool opted to start with a team missing a recognised striker.

Due to the fact that they were more prolific in front of goal, you have to say that United did deserve the victory this afternoon, but once again they rode their luck at times. Liverpool will be frustrated at leaving with nothing, but they only have themselves to blame.

Man Utd's performance

In many ways, this match was fairly similar to the recent win over Southampton in that United's decisiveness in the attacking third was the difference. The 3-0 scoreline certainly looks emphatic on paper, but Louis van Gaal will know that it flatters his side a little.

Liverpool created plenty of chances and, but for a superb performance from David de Gea, United would not have won this match. They were by no means outplayed by the visitors, but the game was not as one sided as the score suggests. The hosts played well in spells, but, as has often been the case in their recent run, they needed to hang on now and again.

Even so, results are the most important thing in football, and United have now won six in a row - their best run since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. They have moved back to within five points of the top two, and now may start to begin looking up the table rather than down it. It was a decent performance today, but a very good result.

Liverpool's performance

A heavy defeat away to your closest rivals is always going to hurt, but Liverpool will have mixed emotions after this match. The loss will be even harder to take considering how comfortably they won here back in March, but there are positives in the number of chances that the visitors created.

Raheem Sterling and Balotelli were both guilty of missing a host of clear openings, and United took full advantage of that. The finishing was certainly disappointing, but they also came up against a keeper in top form. At the back, mistakes once again cost Brendan Rodgers's side, with the first and third goals being avoidable, while the second should have been disallowed for offside.

There are always going to be more negatives than positives after such a defeat, however, and Rodgers will undoubtedly face renewed questions over his future now. Liverpool were dominant at Old Trafford in March and finished 20 points above the Red Devils, but they now find themselves 10 adrift of their bitter rivals. That is a huge swing in such a short space of time, and Rodgers will be on increasingly thin ice if things don't improve soon.

Sports Mole's man of the match

David de Gea: How often does a side win 3-0 and their goalkeeper is the man of the match? The fact that Liverpool could well have won this game without the Spaniard in such good form speaks volumes about how well he actually played. He made no fewer than eight saves, including a particularly good one to tip a Balotelli effort onto the crossbar.

He denied Sterling and Balotelli time after time, leading to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer describing his performance as the best he has seen by a United keeper at Old Trafford - high praise indeed from a striker who played with the likes of Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar. It is not the first time that he has saved United this season, but this may well have been his finest display yet.

Biggest gaffe

This one has to go to Dejan Lovren for his attempted clearance in the build-up to the third goal. Liverpool were still just about in the game when Rooney played a low pass into the box, but Lovren's poor clearance fell straight to Mata, who set up Van Persie to roll home. Questions should also be asked of goalkeeper Brad Jones, but there is no doubt that Lovren was most at fault.

Referee performance

The officials got one big decision wrong as they failed to spot Van Persie getting a touch when in an offside position in the build-up to the second goal. Other than that, Martin Atkinson was a little inconsistent with his bookings and did not enjoy the best game.

What next?

Man Utd: United will be looking to make it seven wins on the bounce when they take on Aston Villa next Saturday.

Liverpool: Liverpool, meanwhile, face a tricky trip to the Goldsands Stadium to take on Bournemouth in the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.