Another chapter of the North West derby between Liverpool and Manchester United has been written and closed.
Juan Mata led the way for United as they took down their arch-rivals Liverpool at Anfield. A massive result for manager Louis van Gaal and his men as they move five points ahead of Liverpool in the race for the final Champions League position.
After Liverpool held the ball for the first few minutes of the match, the United midfield took charge and commanded the middle of the park. A nice build-up from the back saw Ander Herrera slip the ball through to Mata who managed to get in behind Alberto Moreno and finished it off with a cool finish by Liverpool keeper Mignolet in the 14th minute.
Liverpool struggled to get hold of the ball as United controlled the ball well. Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling were lively for Liverpool as the two attackers charged the United back four on counter attacks, looking to equalize.
A late push at the end of the first half by Liverpool in pursuit of an equalizer produced nothing and the home team went into the half time break down one.
A moment of madness from long time Liverpool captain saw the game alter completely. The midfielder, who leaves for the LA Galaxy of MLS this summer, stamped on Herrera just 42 seconds after being subbed on at half-time.
A gasp of disbelief came from all corners of the park as referee Martin Atkinson produced the red card. Things got chippy in the second half after Gerrard’s sending off. Phil Jones escaped with a yellow card after a rash challenge in which the Anfield faithful were calling for a sending off. Mario Balotelli was subbed on by Brendan Rodgers, and after picking up an early card, got into a scuffle with Chris Smalling, but there was nothing more to it.
A brilliant scissor kick from Mata saw United go two up. Another nice build-up move from the team from Manchester, Mata laid it off to Angel Di Maria and snuck in behind Moreno again, who provided a nice chip pass over the Liverpool defence and finished off by Mata.
A Liverpool goal through Daniel Sturridge at the midpoint of the second half gave the home side life as they pinned United back into their half and pushed for the equalizer. The United back line held tight and some help from keeper David De Gea, who was quick off his line on many occasions, was vital after the Liverpool attack found some holes in the defence.
Much has been made of Liverpool’s unbeaten run since their last defeat after switching to the 3-4-2-1 formation, but things went van Gaal’s way who deployed a 4-3-3. A United lineup unchanged for the 3-0 win at Old Trafford against Tottenham proved to be the right call from the Dutch manager.
A late penalty miss from United captain Wayne Rooney kept all hope of a comeback for Liverpool alive. However, they came up just short and United came up with the spoils.
| Liverpool (1) | Manchester United (2) | ||
 |  |  |  |
| Mignolet | 6 | De Gea | 6.5 |
| Can | 4 | Valencia | 4 |
| Skrtel | 5 | Jones | 5 |
| Sakho | 4 | Smalling | 6 |
| Henderson | 6 | Blind | 5 |
| Allen | 5 | Carrick | 6 |
| Moreno | 3 | Herrera | 6 |
| Sterling | 6 | Mata | 8 |
| Lallana | 5 | Fellaini | 6 |
| Coutinho | 5 | Young | 6 |
| Sturridge | 7 | Rooney | 3 |
| Substitutions | |||
| Gerrard | 0 | Di Maria | 5 |
| Balotelli | 2 | Falcao | - |
| Rojo | - | ||