Liverpool’s mind-blowing performance against Real Madrid last night really ought to give them hope for their Premier League chances…

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Forget the claims that Real Madrid are a poor side. This is the team that currently stand only six points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona in the table having gone unbeaten since losing to their Catalan rivals 12 games ago.

More than that, last night’s team included the first-choice keeper of the current national European Champions, Iker Casillas, former World Player of the Year and Italian World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro, and Spanish goalscoring legend Raul.

Add to those the likes of former Manchester United star Gabriel Heinze, ex Chelsea winger Arjen Robben, and his highly rated Dutch compatriot Wesley Sneijder and there’s no way the team Liverpool walloped 4-0 last night can be described as poor.

So, why is it that come the weekend, I expect the natural order of things to be restored and for Manchester United to breeze past Rafa Benitez’s men in their Premier League match at Old Trafford?

Well, I reckon for the same reason Manchester United breeze past most Premier League teams they play – fear.

Manchester United are an exceptional team, and Alex Ferguson’s undoubtedly got them performing at a frighteningly consistent level at the moment.

However, if Liverpool were to play on Saturday the way they went about their task against Real Madrid, I doubt United would even get a point.

Liverpool played sensationally – against some equally sensational players – and can feel genuinely disappointed they didn’t win by a few more.

They were, in short, fearless against a team they’d have had every right to be fearful of.

They face a similarly brilliant team on their visit to Old Trafford on Saturday, but I just wonder whether such is the mental block of facing Manchester United at the moment – as with many of their other Premier League rivals – it’ll stop Liverpool performing to anywhere near the same level on Saturday.

Manchester United have it too easy in the Premier League, and Liverpool's win against Real Madrid only highlights that fact even more sharply.