Sir Alex Ferguson felt Manchester United were worth their 1-0 victory after his side pipped Liverpool with another Anfield smash-and-grab raid on Sunday.

A Carlos Tevez goal in the dying minutes of the first half gave the champions all three points from a game which the home side largely dominated.

With referee Mark Halsey awarding Liverpool a series of free-kicks, including one just outside the box in stoppage time which Steven Gerrard fired just over, the United manager could never rest easy though.

"There was a massive amount of free-kicks, probably a record," said Ferguson.

"When a team gets so many you always worry that one is eventually going to go in. When they got that one just outside the area in injury time, I thought they were going to score. But we held firm and got a result we deserved."

Ferguson has always felt able to identify likely title contenders from the league standings on January 1.

After so long in the game, it is not a philosophy he is about to abandon. And, after collecting seven points in three games against the remainder of the 'big four' he feels confident in United's ability to secure back-to-back crowns.

"Any gap is a significant one in December," he said.

"I always think it is important once you get to the end of the month to be up there.

"If we are around the top on January 1 we will have a real chance of winning the league and we will also know who our challengers are going to be."

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