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Manchester United nullified the returning Luis Suarez and began atoning for their derby drubbing by Manchester City with a 1-0 win over Liverpool in the League Cup on Wednesday.
Manager David Moyes made a raft of changes to the team trounced 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday and saw his side prevail in the third-round tie at Old Trafford through a 46th-minute strike from Javier Hernandez.
Suarez made his Liverpool return following a 10-game ban for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic, and he came close to snatching an equaliser with a free-kick that struck the crossbar.
United survived, however, to avenge their Premier League defeat at Anfield on September 1 and provide a measure of solace for Moyes after his stewardship came under heavy scrutiny in the wake of the loss to City.
"It was a big game for us," said Moyes, whose side will play Norwich City at home in the fourth round.
"We'd lost at Anfield a few weeks ago, we lost at the Etihad last week, so we wanted to put that right."
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said: "I can have no complaints. One lapse of concentration has cost us.
"I thought Luis Suarez was excellent. You could tell he'd been out for a long time as he tired at the end, but he's obviously a threat."
Suarez started up front with Daniel Sturridge, in one of only two changes to the team surprisingly beaten 1-0 by Southampton in the league on Saturday.
Left-back Jose Enrique was the only other newcomer to the visitors' starting XI, but Moyes gambled by making eight changes to the team thrashed by City, with Wayne Rooney handed the captain's armband.
The absence of Patrice Evra spared Suarez an uncomfortable reunion with a player he was found to have racially abused in 2011, but he took his time to make his presence felt.
United began with purpose, Martin Skrtel blocking from Nani and Shinji Kagawa dragging a shot wide, and with Liverpool using an unfamiliar 3-4-1-2 system, Suarez's initial touches betrayed signs of ring-rust.
Gradually, however, he began to influence the game.
Only an alert intervention from Ryan Giggs prevented Victor Moses from attacking a lay-off from the Uruguayan, who then released Sturridge to shoot wide before forcing David de Gea to save at his feet after gathering a sweeping pass from Enrique.
Sturridge also had shots blocked by the two United centre-backs, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans, but after a first half short on incident, the hosts made the breakthrough within seconds of the restart.
With an ease that will have disquieted Rodgers, Rooney curled a corner into the six-yard box from the left and Hernandez stepped away from his marker to steer home a close-range volley.
Jordan Henderson squandered a good chance to equalise when he side-footed wide from 15 yards, and after De Gea fielded a mishit half-volley by Enrique, Nani blazed over from a Kagawa pass at the other end.
Belatedly, there was zip to United's passes, and Kagawa threatened to extend their lead when he ran from deep before dispatching a left-foot shot from range that clipped the crossbar.
Liverpool rallied, Suarez rippling the side netting and Moses forcing a reflex block from De Gea with a diving header, before Suarez came within inches of stealing the headlines with a free-kick that nicked off the United wall and hit the bar.
Rooney then worked Simon Mignolet twice in quick succession, with a free-kick and a curler from the edge of the box, while United were aggrieved not to be awarded a penalty when Alexander Buttner was sandwiched by Skrtel and Kolo Toure.
There were late scares for the home side when De Gea had to claw away an inswinging cross from Henderson and Toure threatened from 12 yards, but United held out to book their place in round four.
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