A disappointing display from reigning Premier League champions Manchester United contributed to a 2-0 victory for a resurgent Liverpool side.

A trademark world class solo goal in the 65th minute from Fernando Torres was the catalyst for the victory which also saw Nemanja Vidic sent off for the third time in a row against Liverpool with minutes to go.

The visitors looked fairly lacklustre in the early stages and it was thanks to the returning Edwin Van Der Sar that they stayed level in the first half after the goalkeeper clawed Fabio Aureillo’s free kick out from under his bar. The Dutchman then got up to stop Dirk Kuyt’s rebound as Liverpool pushed for the opener.

The hosts cut United open on several other occasions but Dirk Kuyt in particular made the wrong decision on several occasions when in good positions.

As the second half wore on, it looked as if the first goal may well settle the match. In the 65th minute, a fantastic through ball from Benayoun saw Torres outmuscle Rio Ferdinand before striking past Van der Sar into the roof of the net for the opener.

United tried to respond but found their forward thinking players not quite on their game. Their best chance came just minutes from the end as substitute Michael Owen set up Antonio Valencia who rattled the bar from a tight angle.

Unfortunately, the woe wasn’t over for Ferguson’s men as Nemanja Vidic saw red for the third time in a row against Liverpool. Interestingly just moments later, Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano joined the Serbian in the dressing room after a late tackle on Van der Sar.

Even so, the last word still went to Benitez as a counter attack saw David N’Gog put through on goal and the French striker calmly finished to wrap the game up.

Whether or not the result puts Liverpool back in the title race remains to be seen. What is certain is that despite the defeat, United are still very much in the reckoning and they normally tend to bounce back well from defeat.

Just a couple of nights later, United beat Barnsley 2-0 in the Carling Cup to progress through to the quarter finals. Nevertheless, the result won’t have eased the pain that they felt at Anfield due to the majority of the starting line up being different from Sunday’s game.

Still, goals from Danny Welbeck and Michael Owen saw the team ease to a comfortable away victory. The only disappointing sidenote was another red card, this time awarded to Gary Neville for a poor challenge midway through the second half.