Rio dismayed by defeat

Rio Ferdinand was at a loss to explain United’s below-par display in the 2-1 defeat at Liverpool, but insists the Reds can bounce back next week at Chelsea.

The centre-back was arguably United’s best player on an unhappy afternoon as Liverpool, aided by two defensive errors, came from behind to end their hoodoo against United.

“We never really got started,” Ferdinand told MUTV. “For the first 10 minutes, before and after we scored, we looked decent and passed the ball about well.

“But after that we didn’t get close to them and they managed to get two goals. They were fortunate on both occasions but I’m sure they’ll be happy enough with that.

“All over the park they were first to the ball and you don’t deserve to win if teams are doing that to you.”

Ferdinand is already looking forward to next week’s tussle with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, a game he feels comes at an ideal time for United after the Anfield defeat.

“It’s always nice to play in big games after disappointments – you find out about your team when you’ve lost a game," he added.

“We want to go to Chelsea and give a good account of ourselves, try to take the three points and ruin their unbeaten home record over the last two or three seasons.

"There couldn’t be a better game for us than the one coming up.”