Manchester United ousts Liverpool from top-4 club in EPL

LONDON: (AFP) - Manchester United punished Steven Gerrard s moment of madness as Juan Mata s double secured a vital 2-1 win over bitter rivals Liverpool, while leaders Chelsea reestablished their stranglehold on the Premier League title race with a 3-2 victory at Hull on Sunday.

United were already leading through Mata s composed finish in the 14th minute at Anfield when Gerrard made Liverpool s task even harder as he earned a red card just 43 seconds after coming on as a half-time substitute.

Making his final appearance against United before his close-season move to LA Galaxy, Gerrard was sent off, for the eighth time in his career, for a clear stamp on Ander Herrera.

United took full advantage of their numerical superiority as Mata scored a quite brilliant second goal in the 59th minute.

Angel di Maria picked out the former Chelsea midfielder with a clipped pass that Mata converted with a stunning bicycle kick.

Daniel Sturridge got one back for Liverpool 10 minutes later, but Brendan Rodgers  side couldn t find an equaliser, leaving Gerrard to apologise for a mistake that could cost his team a place in next season s Champions League.

Fifth placed Liverpool are now five points behind fourth placed United in the race for a top four finish and Gerrard said: "I have let my team-mates and manager down today, even more importantly I let all the supporters down and I take full responsibility for my action."

United s victory would have been even bigger if Wayne Rooney s stoppage-time penalty hadn t been saved by Simon Mignolet, but boss Louis van Gaal was content with a success which keeps them one point behind third-placed Arsenal.

"It s an amazing result for the fans, because we ve beaten Liverpool three times this season. We now have a gap from positions five, six and seven which is very important," he said.

"We kept the ball and created a lot of possibilities to score. I said whoever could beat the pressure shall win. Juan Mata was very good."