5,000 travelling United fans watched on as Kuyt took advantage of some slack Red Devils defending to fire home the winning goal in the closing stages of Saturday’s game.

Speaking to MUTV after the defeat, Sir Alex said: “I don’t know how we lost it. It was a really good performance from us.

"That can happen in the FA Cup though - you can have one bad break against you and you lose the game. It's a sudden death situation which we've experienced many times over the years and anything can happen. It's a bad blow though because we didn't deserve that”.

He added: “We were the better team.”

The Red Devils enjoyed a majority of possession at Anfield but struggled to carve out clear-cut opportunities, with Wayne Rooney’s absence in attack taking its toll.

United’s bid for major honours is now restricted to the Premier League title and the Europa League, with fierce rivals Liverpool into the fifth round as well as the final of the Carling Cup against Cardiff.

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