It was a bitter end to an emotional day at Anfield when Mark Halsey blew the final whistle to conclude a typically nervy and controversial affair between England’s two greatest, most storied football clubs.

A red card for Jonjo Shelvey and a foul called against Glen Johnson proved the crucial decisions, and not for the first time, United left Anfield with all three points despite a performance that hardly merited one. Liverpool felt hard done by, and Brendan Rodgers made no secret of his disappointment with Mark Halsey’s performance, but overall Rodgers will be happy with what he has seen from his new look side thus far.

That might sound an odd thing to say, considering Liverpool are languishing in the relegation zone after a torrid start to the season results-wise, but Rodgers has begun the process of change that will ultimately benefit Liverpool Football Club in the long run, if he is given the necessary time to oversee it. Youth is the key word at Anfield at the moment, and there is certainly plenty of promising talent to be excited about.

Raheem Sterling, Martin Kelly and Suso all impressed, whilst youngster Fabio Borini continues to find his feet after signing from Roma in the off-season. Even Jonjo Shelvey was enjoying a good game until his rush of blood to the head in the 39th minute. Valid questions were asked about Evans’s lack of punishment despite seeming to throw himself into the challenge with just as much ferocity, but there is little doubting that Shelvey lunged with two feet, over the top of the ball, to which he was second, which must have all counted against him in the referee’s eyes.

It proved a defining point in the game, but even without the combative midfielder’s presence, Liverpool continued to boss the game almost in its entirety. Therein lies the only real flaw with Rodgers side at this present moment, that is, the lack of a killer pass or a cool finish. For all their possession, Anders Lindegaard was largely untroubled in the United goal, with just about every shot on target, besides Gerrard’s fine volley, coming from outside the box.

On the occasions that Liverpool did manage to wriggle behind the United defence, there was no one in the six yard box to turn home the few low crosses that the likes of Luis Suarez managed. That was an infrequent occurrence however, considering how much of the ball Liverpool had just outside United’s 18 yard box, and perhaps more credit should be given to the defensive efforts of United’s defenders, but it also undoubtedly showed up Liverpool’s biggest weakness.

But still, there was plenty of value to be taken for Rodgers in the way in which Liverpool controlled the tempo of the game. The possession stats finished relatively even, Liverpool’s 52% to United’s 48%, but that betrays just how one sided this affair was for the majority of the game, and how well Liverpool played. Joe Allen and Steven Gerrard were particularly impressive in the middle, as well as the aforementioned treble of youngsters in Raheem Sterling, Martin Kelly and Suso.

Rodger’s opponent on the day, Sir Alex Ferguson, will know exactly what the Northern Irishman is going through as well. Sir Alex might stand alone as the greatest, most successful manager of the modern era, but even for Fergie, success was not something he managed to achieve overnight. It took years for his emphasis on youth to pay dividends, and Rodgers will need a similar time frame to make it work.

He has already set the wheels of change in motion by introducing a number of academy graduates into the first team environment, and as the season progresses, Rodgers will be able to develop a clearer picture of what his academy will provide for and what he will need to import to cover it’s shortcomings, just as Sir Alex did not so far away from Anfield at Old Trafford. Right now, it would seem the most obvious area in need of reinforcements is up front, a situation not helped by the rash decision to let Andy Carroll leave the club on loan before securing any proper replacement.

Before the game, Sir Alex made a point of emphasizing the need for young managers to be given the right amount of time to set their plans in motion, with particular reference to Brendan Rodgers, but acknowledged that today owners are less willing to give that time to their managers.

There will obviously need to be some improvement in terms of results in the short term future, which  should come naturally with the football that Liverpool are playing, but there should be no need to hit the panic button just yet, nor should there be if Liverpool fail to make the top four this season. After all, they have failed in that respect for the last three seasons.

The truth is, there is no quick fix to Liverpool’s current predicament. Liverpool doesn’t have the squad to achieve Champions League qualification today, nor do they boast the financial clout to simply by a squad of players that can. What they can do, however, is allow Rodgers to continue to build a platform from which he can make consistent finishes in the top four a reality for Liverpool once more.