Vidic slumps as Liverpool soar

Nemanja Vidic endured the proverbial nightmare as Liverpool came away from Old Trafford with a stunning 4-1 victory.

United defender is dismissed on afternoon to forget

On a day when Liverpool badly needed a win Nemanja Vidic endured a miserable afternoon, as Rafa Benitez's side came away from Old Trafford with a stunning 4-1 victory over Manchester United that reignites the title race. An enthralling contest in Manchester saw Vidic badly at fault as he was responsible for Fernando Torres' goal in the first half and was sent-off in the second. Inevitably it was Torres and Steven Gerrard at the hub of a victory that reduces United's lead at the Premier League summit to four points, albeit with a game in hand, and will give Liverpool belief - if not conviction - that a 19-year wait for the title could be sated this season. A Cristiano Ronaldo penalty after 23 minutes had United supporters revelling in their rivals' misery but it was a lead that lasted just five minutes as Torres capitalised on a rare Vidic error to equalise. Gerrard picked himself up from the ground to dispatch a penalty after he was fouled by Patrice Evra to give his side the lead going into half-time, before Vidic saw red for a professional foul on Liverpool's skipper after the break. From the resulting free-kick, with 13 minutes left on the clock, Fabio Aurelio bent a sumptuous effort past a crestfallen Edwin van der Sar. United's woes were exacerbated in the final minute when Liverpool substitute Andrea Dossena lobbed a sublimely taken fourth over van der Sar.

Massive win

Saturday's success represents Liverpool's biggest win at United since 1936 and could yet trigger an amazing championship revival. Liverpool were the ones who needed the win and there appeared an extra sharpness about them from the start, especially Torres who gave the Red Devils defence a torrid time. Once Jamie Carragher had recovered his composure after being unsettled by a late switch to right-back because of Alvaro Arbeloa's late withdrawal, they had the edge in vital areas, the hosts no better than their nervy first-half display against Inter Milan in midweek. Indeed, it was a surprise when United went ahead. Pepe Reina read Carlos Tevez's through ball for Park Ji-sung well enough but came out too quickly for his own good. When the South Korean nicked the ball away, the Liverpool keeper could not stop. And though Reina pleaded for leniency, referee Alan Wiley correctly pointed to the spot. Ronaldo is not the type of player to waste such opportunities and duly dispatched his 17th goal of the season. Had Sir Alex Ferguson's men been able to hold their advantage for a decent length of time, the visitors might have panicked. But five minutes later Liverpool were level thanks to a rare mistake from Vidic. The Serbian has been virtually foot perfect this season, so much so that he is favourite to win the PFA player of the year award. But first Vidic let Martin Skrtel's long punt forward bounce when he could have headed it back into the Liverpool half quite easily. Then, he failed to deal with the loose ball, allowing Torres to nip in and streak clear, beating van der Sar with clinical efficiency. Conceding one goal was amazing enough for the Red Devils, yet before half-time Liverpool had scored again. Hull City were the last team to score more than once against United in Premier League combat - and that was four-and-a-half months ago. But when Torres tried to send Gerrard racing into the box and Evra mis-timed his tackle, the Liverpool skipper converted his penalty with the same confidence Ronaldo had shown earlier.

Gerrard glee

Gerrard's glee was obvious. And Liverpool's lead was fully deserved, condemning Ferguson to his first interval rallying call in league combat at Old Trafford all season. The Scot injected a greater sense of urgency into his team, even if there was no improvement in their retention of the ball. Michael Carrick in particular was having a pretty bad day, twice putting his side in danger with wayward passes. United at least managed to generate some momentum, with Tevez almost getting on the end of a Wayne Rooney knock-back and then rolling a shot on the turn just wide. Having expressed his 'hatred' of Liverpool earlier in the week, the last thing Rooney wanted was to suffer an immediate defeat and a chance for Gerrard - a long-time friend - to gloat. Yet as time ticked by, that was the fate Rooney was condemned to, especially as Ferguson waited until less than 20 minutes remained before he made the introductions of Dimitar Berbatov, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.

Triple substitution

It is the kind of strength Benitez does not have and one of the major reasons why Liverpool have found themselves on the wrong end of a 14-point swing in fortunes since United returned from their Club World Cup campaign in Japan just before Christmas. What Liverpool have managed to do this season is beat Chelsea and United, against both of whom they have now registered 'doubles'. Any hope United had, evaporated within a minute of Ferguson's spectacular triple substitution as another woeful first touch, again from Vidic, left the Serbian little alternative other than to haul down Gerrard. For the second successive game against Liverpool, it brought Vidic a red card and he was still making his way down the tunnel when Aurelio curled home a superb free-kick. And Liverpool were not finished as Dossena lobbed van der Sar to complete a memorable win, whose significance remains unknown.

Manchester United	Team Statistics	Liverpool
1	Goals	4
1	1st Half Goals	2
3	Shots on Target	5
7	Shots off Target	3
7	Blocked Shots	1
10	Corners	3
14	Fouls	16
3	Offsides	2
2	Yellow Cards	3
1	Red Cards	0
80.3	Passing Success	74.2
18	Tackles	32
83.3	Tackles Success	71.9
55	Possession	45
55.6	Territorial Advantage	44.4