Four-star Liverpool triumph at United

Cristiano Ronaldo put the Red Devils ahead from the spot midway through the opening period, but Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard turned the match on its head before the break.

Fabio Aurelio curled home a superb free-kick after Nemanja Vidic capped a dismal display with his second red card of the season against the Merseysiders, before Andrea Dossena lobbed home another in stoppage time.

Once Jamie Carragher had recovered his composure after being unsettled by a late switch to right-back because of Alvaro Arbeloa's late withdrawal, they had the edge in vital areas.

Indeed, it was a surprise when United went ahead, Ronaldo converting from the spot after Pepe Reina brought down Park Ji-sung.

But five minutes later Liverpool were level thanks to a rare mistake from Vidic, who let Martin Skrtel's long punt forward bounce when he could have headed it back into the Liverpool half quite easily. Then, he failed to deal with the loose ball, allowing Torres to nip in and streak clear, beating Edwin van der Sar with clinical efficiency.

The visitors made it 2-1 when Torres tried to send Gerrard racing into the box and Patrice Evra mis-timed his tackle, the Liverpool skipper picking himself up to score from the resulting penalty.

Any hope United had evaporated when another woeful first touch, again from Vidic, left the Serbian little alternative other than to haul down Gerrard.

It brought Vidic a red card, with Aurelio curling home a superb free-kick before Dossena lobbed Van der Sar to complete a memorable win.