While the engine noise from the roaring Berbatov bandwagon is close to deafening, it’s time to slam shut the windows and doors and calmly collect our thoughts following Sunday’s feast of football. It’s time to soak up Sunday’s Scout Notes…

Rio Ferdinand missed out on the encounter with Fernando Torres at Old Trafford through illness. That meant that Johnny Evans was once against alongside Nemanja Vidic in the centre of defence. Frailties were exposed though so Ferdinand’s return to the lineup for the long-term is surely imminent. United travel to Bolton next – not a place to visit with doubts over organisation and responsibilities at the back. It remains to be seen whether Ferdinand will return for that game or be given 90 minutes in the Carling Cup against Scunthorpe in midweek.

Ryan Giggs started the Liverpool game on the left flank and it will be interesting to see if he can hold that role at Bolton when United have a Champions League fixture with Valencia to follow three days later. You would imagine that Ji Sung Park would become a factor if he’s left out of the Carling Cup on Wednesday. Ferguson’s Carling Cup teamsheet will be of interest then and should offer clues as to his likely eleven next Sunday.

Nani was subbed late on, requesting the change and clutching his hamstring as he left. He was seen limping down the tunnel on the final whistle. Cramp looked to be the cause although there’s no confirmation as yet. Again, he looked a major threat for United and provided the assist for Berbatov’s stunning second.

Roy Hodgson’s midfield selection at Old Trafford was of interest. He opted to start with Raul Meireles and Christian Poulsen in the engine room along with Steven Gerrard; Joe Cole and Maxi Rodriguez provided width. Milan Jovanovic found himself on the bench then and it will be interesting to see if that continues for home matches. Liverpool have three of the next four at Anfield, and it remains to be seen if Hodgson will go with a straight 4-4-2 for those games with Ngog or perhaps Jovanovic used alongside Torres. Paul Konchesky was given a difficult Sunday afternoon on Sunday – he has easier opponents in front of him and looks a strong option for the month ahead.

Carlo Ancelotti opted to keep Nicolas Anelka on the bench, despite his goalscoring antics in the midweek Champions League tie. That meant a start for Salomon Kalou on the right with Florent Malouda brought back to flank Didier Drogba on the left. All three were once again devastating. While Drogba remains essential, Malouda reminded us that doubts surrounding the risk of rotation with Kalou around Champions League games must be cast aside; his goal output when he starts is just so strong. Joint leading scorer with Dimitar Berbatov, Malouda is on his way to 20 goals and double figures for assists – and that would be an outstanding return for a 9.5 initial value and Cesc Fabregas will need all the Bonus Points he can get to keep up with him in the Fantasy Premier League Midfield rankings.

Elsewhere in the Chelsea lineup John Terry missed out with a rib injury which saw Branislav Ivanovic alongside Alex in central defence and Paulo Ferreira at right-back. Ashley Cole continues to look the most likely to top the appearance chart amongst Ancelotti’s back four. His regular rampages down the left against on Sunday confirmed that his attacking potential more than justifies his lofty price tag right now. It must be said that Chelsea’s fixtures now stiffen though, with a trip to Man City to come next. That’s followed by a Stamford Bridge clash with Arsenal and a trip to Villa Park. It would take balls to look beyond Cole as a Fantasy selection but clean sheets over the next three do look questionable.

Roberto Mancini handed David Silva a start at Wigan which relegated the unfortunate Adam Johnson to the bench. That move was perhaps the first time that Fantasy Managers have seen the issue of City’s rotation rear its head to a significant degree.

Johnson was well fancied going into the game at the DW Stadium have displayed outstanding form in recent weeks. His place is clearly under threat however, and while Mancini gets defensive industry from James Milner, Johnson could be seen as a luxury player who, along with Silva and Shaun Wright-Phillips, will likely get rotated for the one remaining wide role in the City lineup.

Yaya Toure scored his first goal for City – at last some reward for his endeavours having looked the most likely of the central midfield three to trouble the opposition’s goal. Pablo Zabaleta claimed the left-back role, despite the return of Wayne Bridge from injury in Thursday’s Europa League tie. Micah Richards continues to offer the best value within the City back four, although his place will surely be under threat once Jerome Boateng is available.

Charles N’Zogbia was recalled to the Wigan lineup and, rather surprisingly, it was Ronnie Stam who made way with Emmerson Boyce maintaining the right-back role. Stam replaced Boyce on 65 minutes and we’d expect him to take the role from Boyce in the near future.

Elsewhere, Franco Di Santo also got his first start since arriving at the DW. Mauro Boselli, having failed to make an impression over the first four games of the season, cut a miserable figure on the Wigan bench.