Liverpool breathed some life in the title race as they secured a comfortable 4-1 win over league leaders Manchester United on Saturday.

A defeat for Liverpool would have put an end to their title challenge and Rafa Benitez's side looked nervous on the field as United dominated the opening exchanges. The hosts could have had taken an early lead but Jamie Carragher put in a brilliant challenge to deny Ji Sung Park.

However it was not long before United were in front when Park raced past the Liverpool defense but was fouled inside the area by Pepe Reina leaving the referee with no choice but to award a penalty which was coolly converted by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 23rd minute.

The goal seemed to have snapped Liverpool out of their slumber as they pressed forward in search of an equalizer and were awarded five minutes later when a rare defensive error by Nemanja Vidic allowed Fernando Torres to snatch the ball from the United defender before slotting the ball past Edwin Van der Sar.

The visitors then went into the break in the lead when Patrice Evra fouled Steven Gerrard in the area and the Liverpool captain made no mistake from the penalty spot. Any hopes for a United comeback in the second half were dashed in the 77th minute when Vidic was sent off for a foul on Gerrard and Fabio Aurelio curled in a superb free kick to double the lead.

Liverpool then grabbed a fourth late in injury time when Andrea Dossena latched on to a long clearance from Reina before chipping the ball over Van der Sar for a fourth goal.