The Liverpool manager says he understands the pressures of taking charge of such a big club but insists his task at Anfield was and is tougher than the Old Trafford job

Brendan Rodgers has expressed empathy for David Moyes’ struggles at Manchester United, but points out he took on Liverpool at a lower ebb.
United looked a shadow of the side that won last season’s Premier League by 11 points as Liverpool dished out a comprehensive 3-0 beating at Old Trafford on Sunday.

A transitional period was expected following the end of Sir Alex Ferguson’s 27 years at the helm, but the fall from grace under former Everton boss Moyes has been particularly severe.

Liverpool are an example of how a footballing giant can suffer a change in fortunes, although the club’s stunning form under Rodgers has ignited hopes of a first Premier League title for a team that finished last term in seventh place.

“I have empathy in terms of the pressures,” Rodgers told reporters. “We’re both at the two biggest clubs in British football that are world-renowned clubs.

“It’s incomparable where we were at. He’s obviously come in when they were champions, with world-class players.

“We were eighth when I came in so we had a lot of work to do – a hell of a lot of work to do. I’ve got outstanding owners, they have never buckled from when they offered me the job.

“As a football club, we are restoring that solidity, and as a group both on and off the field. I have empathy for every manager because unless you’ve been a manager you never know the pressures.

“Certainly I understand the pressure of a worldwide institution because Manchester United is a fantastic club.”

A great weekend of action saw the chasing pack gain ground on Chelsea but a notable performance from the Liverpool and England captain against Manchester United stood out

Just when you thought Jose Mourinho was steering Chelsea towards the Premier League title, one topsy turvy weekend ruins the lot.

The Blues unexpectedly lost away at Aston Villa, while there were vital wins for the chasing pack of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, meaning a few familiar faces are back in our Team of the Week.

We start at lowly Fulham though, where David Stockdale (4) produced a string of fine saves to give the Cottagers a platform on which to build from. Felix Magath’s side beat Newcastle 1-0 thanks to Ashkan Dejagah’s strike but the German will feel indebted to his goalkeeper.

In front of Stockdale is another Fulham man – January signing John Heitinga (4). The Dutchman led by example at the heartt of the defence, guiding the west Londoners to their first clean sheet in 10 games.

Also forming our three-man defence is the Arsenal duo of Per Mertesacker (4) and Laurent Koscielny (4) who were a pair of colossuses for the Gunners as they defeated local rivals Tottenham 1-0 at White Hart Lane.

The German made a telling impact, prodding a dangerous cross away and wide from the onrushing Emmanuel Adebayor, while almost scoring at the other end with a sharp volley.

Koscielny had the unenviable task of marshalling an in-form and happy Emmanuel Adebayor but stuck to his guns impressively as he guided the Togolese man down blind alleys rather than allowing him to thrive in dangerous spot.

Our four-man midfield is led by the captain of England and Liverpool, Steven Gerrard (4.5), who converted two of three penalties at Old Trafford in an outstanding 3-0 win and he is joined by club-mate Jordan Henderson (4), who was heavily involved throughout.

Alongside Gerrard in the middle of midfield is Fabian Delph (4)  of Aston Villa. Not only did the Englishman play his part in a stunning 1-0 win over Chelsea, Delph showed ingenuity to turn home the late winner with the inside of his heel.

Finally on the left of midfield is the little maestro – David Silva (4). With Vincent Kompany sent off, the onus fell on the big-game players to find a way to overcome Hull City, leading the playmaker to smash a 25-yard effort inside the near post. It got better as Silva slipped a perfectly weighted through ball to Edin Dzeko to seal the 2-0 rout in Hull.

Up front we turn back to Old Trafford where the SAS were in cracking form once again – Daniel Sturridge (4) picked up an assist while Luis Suarez (4) instictively pounded on a mishit shot to slot home Liverpool’s 4.

The final selection focuses on Peter Odemwingie (4) who helped himself to a double against West Ham. Though the first was a case of right place, right time, the second shook the goal nets to the core as his rising near-post strike put the game out of reach for West Ham.

The Reds boss thought his side could have scored even more goals during a comfortable display, during which Steven Gerrard scored twice and Luis Suarez added a third

Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the superiority his Liverpool side showed in Sunday’s 3-0 win over 10-man Manchester United.

Captain Steven Gerrard score twice from the penalty spot at Old Trafford before Luis Suarez added a third late on in the victory at Old Trafford.

And Rodgers felt Liverpool could have scored more goals but was keen to reiterate that nobody at the club is getting carried away with their title challenge.

“It’s obviously a big win over a huge rival – two of the biggest British clubs that are renowned worldwide. To dominate the game like that was very pleasing,” he told reporters.

“I thought we could have had more goals, I thought we were really aggressive in our game going forward and with a better final touch or final ball we might have got in a bit better and finished them off even more so.

“We attack with great intent and we defend as well. We will just focus on our next game. I can only look at our next game. I’ve done that since I walked in the door.”

As he approaches the end of his second season at Liverpool, Rodgers added that he expects his charges to improve as the campaign draws to a close.

This, he explained, is largely due to a change in mentality at Anfield as Liverpool eye their first league title since 1990.

“We were the same last season – we get better with the methods and that gives us confidence and belief. I try not to expect so much and let the players do the talking,” he added.

“We’re up there on merit so of course we have an opportunity.

“We expect to win. We have a mentality in the team that’s been developing over the course of the 18 months I’ve been here that we expect to win, home and away.

“The belief is in the players now and you see that in their game. I haven’t banned [talk of winning the title], we’ve just got better things to talk about.

“I don’t lose sleep over it, [we] just talk about players improving their performance level and improving their life.”