Two penalties from Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard helped the Reds secure a 3-0 victory at Old Trafford, their first at the ground since 2007. Gerrard opened the scoring after 35 minutes from the spot before doubling the advantage a minute into the second-half. Gerrard missed a later penalty, which would've given him the first Premier League hat-trick from the penalty spot but Luis Suarez found the net late on to seal a comfortable victory. Liverpool started the game brightly with Daniel Sturridge unleashing a forceful shot that narrowly went past the wrong side of David De Gea's post, before Luis Suarez went down under pressure in the box and appealed for a spot-kick. The game started to heat up with Rafael pick up a yellow card for a poor challenge and then immediately giving away a penalty as he handled the ball. The Brazilian was lucky to stay on the field and Steven Gerrard dispatched the penalty comfortably, giving the Reds the lead. Shortly before the break Wayne Rooney latched onto the end of Rafael's pass and forced a decent diving save from Simon Mignolet in United's first chance of the match. Things went from bad to worse for United inside the first minute of the second period as Joe Allen was bundled over by Phil Jones in the penalty box, paving the way for Gerrard to step up and make it 2-0, which he did- taking advantage of the first time Manchester United had conceded two penalties at Old Trafford in one Premier League match. Old Trafford was looking completely deflated and there seemed to be no way back into the match for the Red Devils, with Liverpool looking likely to extend their lead and make their rivals suffer. Nemanja Vidic was given his marching orders 12 minutes before full-time when Sturridge dived to the ground and conned the referee into believing there was contact, earning Vidic a second yellow and Liverpool a third penalty. However, Gerrard couldn't grab his hat-trick as he smashed his spot-kick against the post. Five minutes later Suarez forced a superb save from De Gea as Liverpool tried to put the match beyond any doubt. However, moments later he did find the net as a deflection bought the ball to the Uruguayan's feet and he put away his 25th goal of the season. Liverpool's victory means they are just four points behind league leaders Chelsea with a game in hand, while Manchester United are now eleven points off a Champions League place and the deficit could be extended this afternoon.
Josh has had work featured in the Evening Gazette and on Newcastle United website. He is a Multimedia Journalism student at Teesside University and runs a successful sports blog. He also enjoys films, comics and TV, writing about anything he can. Josh has recently started writing his first of what he hopes will be many books.
