Dimitar Berbatov fired in a sublime hat-trick to inspire Manchester United to a deserved 3-2 victory over arch enemies Liverpool on Sunday. Roy Hodgson’s side were completely overwhelmed by United and their rejuvenated Bulgarian, who scored an 84th minute winner to dash any Liverpool hopes of grabbing a point after the unlikeliest of comebacks. So what did we learn about Liverpool after this defeat?

The jury remains out on Hodgson

After a dismal seventh placed finish last term, Liverpool have started this season under the guidance of new manager Roy Hodgson in similarly poor form. There was certainly no traditional honeymoon period for Hodgson who has faced Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United in the opening five league games of the season. The former Fulham man has failed to beat any of these sides and has faced criticism for his selection and tactics.

The decision to take off the increasingly influential Portuguese midfielder Raul Meireles for Milan Jovanovic immediately back-fired with Berbatov scoring the winner within five minutes of the change. Despite Meireles struggling with fitness towards the end, the former Porto playmaker was causing United problems with his pin-point passing and substituting the largely anonymous Joe Cole may have been a better option.

Hodgson also came under fire for changing from Rafael Benitez’s preferred 4-2-3-1 system to a 4-4-2 at Manchester City earlier in the season, where they were comprehensively beaten 3-0. Liverpool were completely outnumbered in midfield that day and Hodgson will know that every decision and tactic will be under the spotlight during his tenure at Anfield. The Reds have managed just five points in five games; however Hodgson will be positive of improved results after navigating a difficult run of games.

Torres remains frustrated up front on his own

Fernando Torres struggled to make an impact on the game over the first 45 minutes and was well marshalled by the centre-back pairing of Nemanja Vidic and Jonny Evans. After receiving initial support from Meireles, Hodgson changed the badly faltering system by bringing on Frenchman David N’Gog for the ineffectual Argentine Maxi Rodriguez on the hour mark.

N’Gog was the perfect foil for Spaniard Torres, with the youngster running in behind United’s defence and allowing Torres to isolate one of either Vidic or Evans. This paid dividends and helped bring Liverpool back into the game when Torres was fouled to win the penalty and free-kick, incidents which helped bring Hodgson’s side level. Torres has previously profited from the playmaking abilities of Xabi Alonso and the support of Steven Gerrard and will receive more service once Hodgson has adapted his preferred system and a settled side.

Liverpool look fragile defending set-pieces

Despite having a solid defensive record at Liverpool, Rafael Benitez was repeatedly criticised for his insistence on zonal marking. Hodgson is also a fan of zonal marking and is credited with introducing the system to Scandinavian football during spells at Halmstad and Malmo FF.

Hodgson has yet to fine tune his new side in defending set-pieces and they looked unclear on their responsibilities against Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, who took full advantage. Torres was the culprit, foolishly left man-marking (if you can call it that) Berbatov as the evergreen Giggs floated in a corner just before half-time. The Bulgarian didn’t even have to jump to direct a deft header past Pepe Reina for the opener. Hodgson will know extra practice on the training ground is needed to alleviate such mistakes.

Hodgson has yet to find the right system

Roy Hodgson’s preferred system is the 4-4-2 tactic he used to phenomenal success in guiding Fulham to the Europa League final last season. Under Benitez Liverpool played with a fluent 4-2-3-1 system and Hodgson has continued to use this during the opening months of the season. While a brief change to a 4-4-2 system at Eastlands ended in a 3-0 defeat.

New signings, Joe Cole’s suspension and Dirk Kuyt’s injury means Hodgson has yet to name an unchanged line-up in the league. Cole, Gerrard and Meireles have all been deployed in the second striker role, while the central midfield axis has rotated between Lucas/Christian Poulsen and Lucas/Gerrard. The Reds do not have the right personnel to successfully deploy a 4-4-2 and it may take a few games for Hodgson to find the right formula in the final third.

A tough season ahead for Liverpool

This season was always going to be a tough one for new manager Hodgson, given the arduous task to rebuild a Liverpool side short on confidence and with a minimal budget at his disposal.

The Reds have been disappointing so far this season, but could have easily been three more points better off and up to fourth had they held their lead for another minute against Arsenal and grabbed an undeserved point at Old Trafford. Liverpool have had a difficult start and will improve, but will struggle to break back into the top four this season.

You can read more of my blogs HERE or follow me on Twitter.

Liverpool old boy taking the Championship by storm

A look into the future of the Premier League