Reds lift Anfield misery

Liverpool earned a 2-0 victory over fierce North West rivals Manchester United to lift the recent misery surrounding Anfield.

Benitez earns vital win, while Vidic and Mascherano see late red cards

Liverpool earned a 2-0 victory over fierce North West rivals Manchester United to lift the recent misery surrounding Anfield. Pre-match build-up focused on doom and gloom as the Reds went into the contest in their worst form for 22 years, sparking speculation that Rafa Benitez could be facing the sack. But Torres - who overcame injury to start, unlike Steven Gerrard - and substitute David Ngog scored in the second half to earn a first win in four games, erasing the pain of consecutive defeats to Fiorentina, Chelsea, Sunderland and Lyon. The first half had been a tight affair, failing to meet the level of expectancy surrounding the fixture, and ended goalless as Edwin van der Sar saved a Fabio Aurelio free-kick, while Wayne Rooney could not generate power in a header. Proceedings then continued in a similar fashion after the interval, however, Torres demonstrated his brilliance in the 65th minute as he had too much speed and strength for the out-of-form Rio Ferdinand before finishing from close range. The goal brought the game to life in a thrilling conclusion and United were incensed as Jamie Carragher avoided a red card when pulling down Michael Owen, who was severely booed when entering the game from the bench on his return to Anfield. United's frustrations increased shortly after as Nemanja Vidic was dismissed for a second booking when hauling down Dirk Kuyt to earn his third successive red card against Liverpool. Javier Mascherano followed shortly after as the Argentine had a rush of blood to the head with a slide challenge on United goalkeeper Van der Sar, which warranted a second booking. Ngog then made sure of the points in front of a jubilant Kop as the Frenchman kept his composure to apply the finishing touch to a swift counter-attack deep into stoppage time.

Punishing reception

As expected, Gerrard missed the match with a groin problem, but Rooney recovered from a calf injury to play for the champions. Liverpool had Torres and Glen Johnson back after both missed the UEFA Champions League defeat to Lyon on Tuesday, while United also had Ryan Giggs, Patrice Evra and Michael Carrick back in their starting line-up. Owen, facing his former club, started on the bench and on his introduction received a punishing reception from the fans who once worshipped him. United's supporters made the most of Liverpool's recent misfortune. Beach balls, Eric Cantona masks and insulting banners were smuggled into the away section. Watching on were Liverpool co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, sitting side-by-side in the directors' box, but not in the exposed front row. The atmosphere was electric, the noise deafening, as Liverpool set about trying to restore their battered reputation, but the opening exchanges did not quite live up to all the hype. Evra was booked after two trips on Torres in as many minutes, and from the free-kick Aurelio sent in a curled effort that Van der Sar clawed away. It went straight to Kuyt, whose follow-up was also saved by his Dutch compatriot. Then Lucas Leiva robbed Paul Scholes and gave Kuyt another chance, this one guided wide of the far post. Rooney, who had seen one effort disallowed for offside, rose to met an Antonio Valencia cross, but his header was held low to his right by Jose Reina. United had better possession and hit Liverpool with pace and slick movement, but Van der Sar was again needed to plunge to his right to keep out an Aurelio header from Yossi Benayoun's cross. Then Dimitar Berbatov was booked for a trip on Lucas, with the game finely balanced as the half ended. Kuyt should have scored early in the second period when he was played in by Johnson, but he chose to pass rather than blast an angled effort, and the chance was lost.

Confidence

Then the excellent Benayoun's touch sent Torres away on the right, but his lack of genuine pace following his groin problem did not see him shake off Ferdinand, and again the opening went begging. It then needed a block from Johnson on the far post to keep out Rooney's header from Giggs' free-kick. But Liverpool were growing in confidence and they grabbed the lead after 65 minutes. Benayoun's superb pass sent Torres beyond Ferdinand, onside only by inches. The Spaniard was not going to be denied this time. He held off the England centre-back and lashed a shot into the roof of the net. Anfield went berserk. Mascherano was booked for a foul on Evra before Anfield had its first sight of Owen in a United shirt as he came on for Berbatov and Nani replaced Scholes after 74 minutes. Vidic was booked for a foul on Torres, and then after 80 minutes Torres could run no more and Ngog took his place. Valencia saw a powerful cross-shot rebound off the Liverpool bar and Owen was searching for any inch of space. He almost had a chance when he chased a through-ball, only to be hauled down by his good friend Carragher. The Liverpool skipper was only booked, much to the frustration of United and boss Sir Alex Ferguson. With just a minute of normal time left, Vidic pulled down Kuyt as the forward raced into an empty half. Red followed a second yellow, and the Serbian was sent off for the third successive game against Liverpool. Three minutes into added time Mascherano was also sent off for a challenge on Van der Sar, the Argentina captain's second yellow-card offence. Then came the killer blow to United. Liverpool broke from deep defence, Lucas delayed his pass to send Ngog away on his own and the striker slid the second past Van der Sar. Anfield, and Benitez, could finally celebrate.

Liverpool	Team Statistics	Manchester United
2	Goals	0
0	1st Half Goals	0
5	Shots on Target	3
6	Shots off Target	2
5	Blocked Shots	3
5	Corners	1
20	Fouls	13
1	Offsides	3
1	Yellow Cards	2
1	Red Cards	1
69.7	Passing Success	74.8
31	Tackles	25
71	Tackles Success	88
42.9	Possession	57.1
50.6	Territorial Advantage	49.4