Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson delivered a scathing verdict on his team's display in the 2-1 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.

He said: "We can take nothing positive from this. We didn't have one performer on the pitch apart from possibly Rio Ferdinand. It was disappointing."

Ferguson added: "Our defending was very poor for both Liverpool goals."

United also had defender Nemanja Vidic sent off for two yellow cards, while Michael Carrick limped off at half-time with an injury.

Carlos Tevez put Manchester United ahead after just three minutes after a pass from £30million signing Dimitar Berbatov, but Wes Brown's own goal put Liverpool level before substitute Ryan Babel's late winner.

Ferguson said: "You don't expect that from Manchester United. When we have a bad day we usually still get something from the game.

"Overall, they were the better team. Liverpool produced a performance of tackling, hassling and getting about us.

"The source of our defeat was not coping with the hassling and the tackling. You have to give them credit for that - but at the end of the day, we should cope.

"We started excellently, and it was a wonderful ball from Berbatov for the goal."

Liverpool ended a run of five successive defeats against United and Ferguson said: "The difficulty of holding a record like that is that it gives the other team a big incentive every time they play you."

The United boss was unhappy about Vidic's dismissal, saying: "Carragher was making those challenges all day long, and no fouls were given.

"We had several bookings and a red card. Is that a reflection of Man United being a dirty team? I don't think so. I think the crowd plays a part."