Reds lift Anfield misery

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 successive 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 pace and power for 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 he applied the finishing touch to a swift counter-attack deep into stoppage time.

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