On this day: Reds run riot at Old Trafford

Having thrashed Real Madrid in the Champions League at Anfield just a few days before, Rafael Benitez's side capped off a fine week with a brilliant rout of Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

The Reds dealt United their heaviest home defeat since 1992 to keep apace with them in the race for the Barclays Premier League title.

Liverpool were already without influential midfielder Xabi Alonso and their problems grew when Alvaro Arbeloa injured his hamstring in the warm-up.

And it got even worse for the visitors when Cristiano Ronaldo put the league-leaders 1-0 up from the penalty spot 23 minutes in.

However, the goal prompted a positive response from Liverpool. Fernando Torres levelled with a composed finish after he left Nemanja Vidic for dead.

And from that moment on, the Reds never looked back.

Their dominance was rewarded just a minute before half-time when skipper Steven Gerrard was fouled in the penalty area and netted the subsequent spot-kick to put his side ahead.

The Red Devils carved out a spell of pressure after the interval as they looked for a route back into the game.

But, in a matter of seconds, the match as a contest was over.

Javier Mascherano holds off compatriot Carlos Tevez

Vidic picked up his second red card against Liverpool for the season when he pulled back Gerrard - who was clean through on goal.

Fabio Aurelio took the resulting free-kick and delivered a wonderful curling effort to make it 3-1 and send the visiting supporters into delirium.

Andrea Dossena then poured salt in the wounds by applying a lifted finish to record a massive statement of intent for the rest of the title run-in.

After the game, Benitez was delighted with performance from his men, and said: "We have good players, a good mentality and great character.

"We knew we had to win, but even after conceding we had to push forward and believe we could do it. It was a good game, but today we’ve played better.”

Meanwhile, the Liverpool captain was pleased with the spirit show by his teammates in overcoming adversity.

"It was magnificent, we showed great character to come from a goal down," Gerrard said.

"It was quite comfortable in the end, but they did have a man less. We all played like men today. Hopefully that gives teams who play against United belief they can be beaten."