Liverpool miss out on fourth place thanks to resurgent Reds outfit

Juan Mata’s brilliant brace handed Manchester United a key victory over Liverpool and a big boost in the race for the top four after this morning's action-packed encounter at Anfield that also saw Steven Gerrard sent off. Mata scored once in each half – his second a jaw-dropping acrobatic effort – to overshadow Daniel Sturridge’s second-half goal in a typically tense United-Liverpool encounter with Simon Mignolet even saving Wayne Rooney's stoppage-time penalty. Louis van Gaal and Brendan Rodgers both kept unchanged teams from their respective wins over Tottenham and Swansea, with Angel Di Maria, returning from suspension, and Gerrard, Liverpool’s outgoing captain, unable to force their way into the starting line-ups. That doesn't matter, nor does the four yellow cards. What matters here is the win. What would really matter is if Man United made it to the top of the table. It can still happen.