Manchester United sinks Liverpool

Manchester United, sent on their way by a rare goal from unsettled defender Wes Brown, beat 10-man Liverpool 3-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday to stay firmly in charge in the Premier League. United are now enjoying a fivepoint lead at the top over Chelsea who won 2-1 over Arsenal at home. They have 73 points from 31 matches with seven matches to go. Chelsea have now 68 from 31 while Arsenal are now thrid with 67 from 31. Liverpool remain fourth with 59. It was Didier Drogba scored two crucial second half goals to lift Chelsea into second place. Arsenal were leading by a first half goal before Drogba displayed his killer instincts to virtually kill off Arsenal’s title hopes. After the dismissal late in the first half of Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano for dissent, Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani added late goals as United extended their streak over fierce rivals Liverpool to seven wins in their last eight meetings. Brown, who had previously scored only two goals in 10 years for his hometown club, headed in a Wayne Rooney cross 11 minutes before halftime. Ten minutes later, Liverpool were reduced to 10 men when midfielder Mascherano, who had been booked early on for a late tackle, was given a second yellow card by referee Steve Bennett. The decision prompted a furious response from the Argentina international who had to be dragged away from the official by several of his team mates. Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez was also incensed by the decision after Mascherano responded to a booking for Fernando Torres, who could have been sent off himself in the second half as he allowed his frustration to show. United manager Alex Ferguson, speaking to Sky TV, said: “He kept badgering the referee. We talk about (curbing) dissent and I think that was dissent.” The incident summed up an unhappy afternoon for Liverpool, who have not beaten United since April 2004 and have now failed to score in their last seven league games against Ferguson’s side. They came into the game in decent form, having won their seven previous matches, but their key players, Torres and Steven Gerrard, made little impact. Ronaldo, the league’s leading scorer, also looked subdued for long periods but still managed to score his 24th league goal of the season as United could have won by a bigger margin. Only a superb performance from Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who was nevertheless at fault with Brown’s goal, spared Liverpool from total humiliation, the Spain international single-handedly keeping United out until the closing stages.

In matches on Saturday, Aston Villa lost 1-0 to Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers won 3-1 over Wigan, Bolton Wanderers drew 0-0 with Manchester City 0, Everton drew 1-1 with West Ham United 1, Middlesbrough beat Derby County 1-0, Newcastle beat Fulham 2-0, Reading beat Birmingham City 2-1 and Tottenham Hotspur beat Portsmouth 2-0.