Early goals from David Ngog and Ryan Babel turned the game into a procession, with Maxi Rodriguez adding a third soon after half-time.

“We shot ourselves in the foot early (in the season),” Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson said, “but the limp’s getting better. Our shape was good tonight.”

The defeat means Villa have gone four games without a win and lie two places and two points above the relegation zone.

Liverpool were without Fernando Torres, who withdrew to be with his wife after she went into labour, which gave Babel his first Premier League start of the season.

His fledgling striker partnership with Ngog soon took flight, with both scoring within the opening 16 minutes.

Villa’s young side seemed to have weathered an early storm in which Dirk Kuyt volleyed just wide, but after 14 minutes Martin Skrtelk beat Ciaran Clark in the air and headed a right-wing corner back across goal, where Ngog dived to head it past Brad Friedel.

“I have to take my responsibility when the coach gives me a chance,” Ngog said. “The team are more confident and passing the ball better.”

Two minutes later, Babel, looking fractionally offside, ran onto Lucas’s chipped pass, judged the bounce well and angled a controlled finish across Friedel and into the bottom corner.

It should have been three goals before half-time, with Sotirios Kyrgiakos getting the better of Clark but heading over with the goal seemingly at his mercy.

Clark was withdrawn at half-time for Nathan Delfouneso as Villa switched from 4-4-1-1 to 4-4-2, and they were more competitive in the second half.

Pepe Reina made a brave save at the feet of Gabriel Agbonlahor after 53 minutes, and two minutes later Liverpool had their third. A quick break was worked to Ngog on the left, and when he slipped a clever ball inside, Maxi sidefooted an excellent finish.

For Reina this was a 100th clean sheet for Liverpool – making him the quickest Liverpool keeper to achieve the mark.

“I have to give thanks to the boys,” Reina said. “It’s totally up to them. I have a great defence in front of me.”

Hodgson added his tribute: “He’s a very good goalkeeper and a good character. Goalkeepers need a certain presence, and Pepe certainly has that.”

From then on it was merely a question of whether Liverpool could add to their lead; they didn’t, but this was as simple as Premier League wins come.

Source: supersport.co.za

Former Liverpool and England star Owen glanced in a 74th-minute header to give United a share of the points at the Reebok Stadium after Bolton had twice taken the lead through Zat Knight and Martin Petrov.

The draw saw United leapfrog Arsenal into second place in the table, three points behind league leaders Chelsea.

In a later kick-off, new Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier’s first league match in charge of the Birmingham club saw them move up into fifth place as they won 2-1 away to Midlands rivals Wolves.

Houllier was indebted to Emile Heskey for the second time in a week as the former England striker’s late goal sealed victory after he inspired a midweek comeback League Cup win over Blackburn Rovers.

In Bolton, Owen expressed disappointment that Sir Alex Ferguson’s men had missed an opportunity to reduce Chelsea’s lead to only a point after the champions were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City on Saturday.

“It’s always a tough place to come. We created enough chances and dominated so we’re disappointed to only get a point,” Owen said, playing down the significance of his 200th goal in England.

“It’s nice to score goals but it’s obviously tinged with a bit of disappointment because we didn’t get the three points.”

Asked about failing to capitalise on Saturday’s results, which saw both leaders Chelsea and Arsenal beaten, Ferguson added: “Teams drop points when we don’t expect them.

“Away from home we’ve scored seven goals and only got three points, it’s a very difficult league.”

Bolton had taken a shock lead after six minutes when Knight punished some slack marking from United centre-half Jonny Evans to flick home a Petrov corner with the outside of his right boot.

United finally got back on level terms though midway through the half with a scintillating individual effort from Nani.

After gathering the ball on halfway, the Portuguese international set off on a weaving run that took him to the edge of the Bolton area, and as the home defence backed off, the winger unleashed a hard low shot past Jaaskelainen.

United though were then rocked by Bolton’s second goal on 67 minutes, Petrov rounding off a superb counter-attack which he had started by scoring with a rasping effort that took a big deflection off Darren Fletcher.

Bolton should have made it 3-1 shortly afterwards, when Johan Elmander cleverly eluded Nemanja Vidic to go clear on goal only to blaze his shot over the bar.

Wanderers were left to rue their profligacy moments later when Owen, who had replaced Fletcher, glanced in his landmark goal in club football.

It seemed Villa would have to settle for a point until Heskey — signed by then Liverpool manager Houllier for £11 million a decade ago –headed in Stephen Warnock’s cross two minutes from time for what was his third goal in four games.

“It was the perfect return because we got three points,” Houllier said.

“Emile’s header was fantastic,” Houllier added after Heskey’s first league start in six months.

Stewart Downing put Villa ahead at Molineux before Matt Jarvis equalised just after the hour mark.

In the day’s other Premier League match, Stoke came from behind to win 2-1 away to Newcastle.

Kevin Nolan put the Magpies ahead from the penalty spot after Robert Huth fouled Andy Carroll before Stoke striker Kenwyne Jones equalised with a 67th minute header.

But the visitors secured victory five minutes before full-time when Newcastle’s James Perch headed into his own net from a Stoke corner.

Source: supersport.co.za

Pic: sport24.co.za

Houllier, who coached Villa’s Premier League rivals Liverpool between 1998 and 2004, has not taken charge of a team since leaving Lyon in 2007.

The 63-year-old – who stepped down as France coach when they failed to reach the 1994 World Cup finals – is currently employed as the French National Technical Director, which means he oversees football policy in the country.

“According to our information, Gerard Houllier has given his agreement to join the English club Aston Villa,” read the report on the L’Equipe website.

“The current DTN (National Technical Director) was in England last weekend and he left on Monday evening.

“Negotiations between the two parties on Tuesday reached a conclusion over a contract with a duration of two years.”

L’Equipe added that Houllier was believed to want Phil Thompson as his assistant coach, having worked alongside him during his spell at Liverpool.

The paper added that Houllier’s arrival would be officially announced on Wednesday.

Villa, who finished sixth in the English top flight last season, have been looking for a new manager since Martin O’Neill left his post on the eve of the new campaign on August 9.

Source: supersport.co.za

Pic: enjoyfrance.com

Villa, who saw Martin O’Neill quit as coach on the eve of the Premier League kick-off and James Milner sold to Manchester City, were beaten 3-2 by Rapid Vienna in their play-off second leg.

That gave the Austrians a 4-3 aggregate win to follow up their victory over the Midlanders in last season’s tournament.

Villa twice led on Thursday and also missed a penalty as they joined the Scottish trio of Celtic, Dundee United and Motherwell in being forced to write off their European hopes for another season.

Liverpool and Manchester City were left as Britain’s only representatives in Friday’s draw for the group stages of Europe’s second tier tournament.

Roy Hodgson’s Liverpool overcame a disastrous start to score twice in the last seven minutes to defeat Trabzonspor 2-1 for a 3-1 aggregate victory while City saw off Timisoara of Romania 2-0 at home for a 3-0 triumph. At Villa Park, Gabriel Agbonlahor gave Villa an early lead but Vienna hit back through Atdhe Nuhiu.

Emile Heskey then restored Villa’s lead with 13 minutes remaining after Stiliyan Petrov had missed a penalty.

But Mario Sonnleitner headed Vienna level a minute later before substitute Rene Gartler put the visitors through in the 81st minute.

Playing without Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, Liverpool saw their 1-0 first leg advantage last just four minutes in Turkey when Colombian international Teofilo Gutierrez put the home side in front.

He had been set up by Gustavo Colman who had pounced when Dirk Kuyt had given the ball away.

But Hodgson’s side regained the initiative in the 83rd minute when Trabzonspor’s Giray Kacar diverted a Glen Johnson cross into his own net.

Kuyt then added the second on the night for Liverpool in the 88th minute after goalkeeper Onur Kivrak could only parry Joe Cole’s shot into the Dutchman’s path.

“A lot of people have said a lot of things about my future, but for me it is at Liverpool. I like it here at the club and I want to stay here and win things,” said Kuyt.

Shaun Wright-Phillips scored his first goal of the season to help Manchester City overcome Timisoara at Eastlands.

The England winger produced a calm finish in the 43rd minute to open the scoring for Roberto Mancini’s side as the brave resistance of the Romanian minnows was eventually broken.

Dedryck Boyata made it 2-0 in the second half with a close range header to score the first goal of his professional career.

Celtic, who had already been knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers, surrendered a 2-0 first leg lead to go down 4-0 in Utrecht in Holland.

Ricky van Wolfswinkel scored a hat-trick for the Dutch side with Barry Maguire adding a fourth as Celtic’s dismal away record in Europe continued, with just one win in 28 games on the road.

Motherwell lost 1-0 at nine-man Odense, who won the first leg 2-1, at Fir Park last week. Peter Utaka claimed the only goal in the 28th minute.

Dundee United drew 1-1 against AEK Athens but went out 2-1 on aggregate in a match where the venue had to be moved several times.

Elsewhere, Juventus made sure of their place in the next round when Alessandro Del Pierro netted a 53rd-minute winner against Sturm Graz of Austria for a 3-1 aggregate victory.

RESULTS

Porto (Portugal) 4 Racing Genk (Belgium) 2
Porto win 7-2 on aggregate.

Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) 2 Gyor ETO (Hungary) 1
Dinamo Zagreb win 4-1 on aggregate.

Fenerbahce (Turkey) 1 PAOK Salonika (Greece) 1
PAOK Salonika win 2-1 on aggregate.

Aston Villa (England) 2 Rapid Vienna (Austria) 3
Rapid Vienna win 4-3 on aggregate.

Elfsborg Boras (Sweden) 0 Napoli (Italy) 2
Napoli win 3-0 on aggregate.

Juventus (Italy) 1 Sturm Graz (Austria) 0
Juventus win 3-1 on aggregate.

Lille (France) 2 Vaslui (Romania) 0
Lille win 2-0 on aggregate.

Manchester City (England) 2 FC Timisoara (Romania) 0
Manchester City win 3-0 on aggregate.

Motherwell (Scotland) 0 OB Odense (Denmark) 1
OB Odense win 3-1 on aggregate.

Maribor (Slovenia) 3 Palermo (Italy) 2
Palermo win 5-3 on aggregate.

Karpaty Lviv (Ukraine) 1 Galatasaray (Turkey) 1
Karpaty Lviv win on away goals after 3-3 on aggregate.

The New Saints (Wales) 2 CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria) 2
CSKA Sofia win 5-2 on aggregate.

Grasshoppers (Switzerland) 1 Steaua Bucharest (Romania) 0
Steaua Bucharest win 4-3 on penalties after 1-1 on aggregate.

Utrecht (Netherlands) 4 Celtic (Scotland) 0
Utrecht win 4-2 on aggregate.

Lech Poznan (Poland) 0 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine) 0
Lech Poznan win 1-0 on aggregate.

APOEL Nicosia (Cyprus) 1 Getafe (Spain) 1
Getafe win 2-1 on aggregate.

Ghent (Belgium) 2 Feyenoord (Netherlands) 0
Ghent win 2-1 on aggregate.

AEK Athens (Greece) 1 Dundee United (Scotland) 1
AEK Athens win 2-1 on aggregate.

Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel) 4 Paris St Germain (France) 3
Paris St Germain win 5-4 on aggregate.

Tavria Simferopol (Ukraine) 1 Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) 3
Bayer Leverkusen win 6-1 on aggregate.

VfB Stuttgart (Germany) 2 Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) 2
VfB Stuttgart win 3-2 on aggregate.

Levski Sofia (Bulgaria) 2 AIK Stockholm (Sweden) 1
Levski Sofia win 2-1 on aggregate.

Litex Lovech (Bulgaria) 1 Debrecen (Hungary) 2
Debrecen win 4-1 on aggregate.

PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) 5 Sibir Novosibirsk (Russia) 0
PSV Eindhoven win 5-1 on aggregate.

Trabzonspor (Turkey) 1 Liverpool (England) 2
Liverpool win 3-1 on aggregate.

Unirea Urziceni (Romania) 1 Hajduk Split (Croatia) 1
Hajduk Split win 5-2 on aggregate.

Austria Vienna (Austria) 1 Aris Salonika (Greece) 1
Aris Salonika win 2-1 on aggregate.

Brondby (Denmark) 0 Sporting (Portugal) 3
Sporting win 3-2 on aggregate.

Metalist Kharkiv (Ukraine) 2 Omonia Nicosia (Cyprus) 2
Metalist Kharkiv win 3-2 on aggregate.

HJK Helsinki (Finland) 0 Besiktas (Turkey) 4
Besiktas win 6-0 on aggregate.

Aktobe Lento (Kazakhstan) 2 AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands) 1
AZ Alkmaar win 3-2 on aggregate.

Maritimo (Portugal) 1 BATE Borisov (Belarus) 2
BATE Borisov win 5-1 on aggregate.

Dinamo Minsk (Belarus) 2 Club Bruges (Belgium) 3
Club Bruges win 5-3 on aggregate.

Dnepr Mogilev (Belarus) 1 Villarreal (Spain) 2
Villarreal win 7-1 on aggregate.

Garabagh Agdam (Azerbaijan) 0 Borussia Dortmund (Germany) 1
Borussia Dortmund win 5-0 on aggregate.

Lokomotiv Moscow (Russia) 1 FC Lausanne-Sport (Switzerland) (II) 1
FC Lausanne-Sport win 4-3 on penalties after 2-2 on aggregate

Played on Tuesday
Anorthosis Famagusta (Cyprus) 1 CSKA Moscow (Russia) 2
CSKA Moscow win 6-1 on aggregate.

Source + Pic: supersport.co.za

The 58-year-old Northern Irishman announced his decision in a joint statement with chief executive Paul Faulkner on the club website (www.avfc.co.uk).

“I have enjoyed my time at Aston Villa immensely. It’s obviously a wrench to be leaving such a magnificent club,” O’Neill said.

“I pay tribute to the Villa players, my coaching staff and the Villa supporters for all the support and encouragement they have given both the club and me personally during my time as manager.”

Reserve team manager Kevin MacDonald will take caretaker charge for the club’s opening game of the season at home to West Ham United on Saturday.

Former Villa striker Gary Shaw criticised O’Neill’s decision to quit.

“I don’t know what has happened but the timing is not great. It’s a bit naughty of Martin to leave the club in this situation, just a few days before the start of the season,” Shaw told Reuters.

“The club badly need two or three quality players to be brought in as quickly as possible and I can’t imagine Kevin MacDonald has licence to make these signings, so they need to make an appointment very soon.

“I don’t know who they should go for but it is a great job for someone. I have heard Glenn Hoddle and Martin Jol mentioned. Maybe they wouldn’t be bad options,” added Shaw.

O’Neill gave no reason for his resignation but has had to deal with constant media speculation over the possible sale of midfielders James Milner and Ashley Young.

Last week O’Neill, speaking about the likelihood of Milner joining Manchester City, told the club website: “I think losing your best players … would obviously cause you a headache.

“That’s a problem. It’s a problem because you’re trying to build something and something like this happens.”

He had a similar battle over former captain Gareth Barry, who was heavily linked in the media with a transfer to Liverpool in 2008 before joining Manchester City last year.

O’Neill’s departure comes four years after joining the Midlands club. His tenure included three sixth-place league finishes and Villa’s first final in 10 years — a 2-1 League Cup defeat by Manchester United last season.

“The club thanks Martin for the great work he has done at Aston Villa over the past four years,” Faulkner said.

“He has helped to establish the club in the upper echelons of the Premier League, has taken us to Wembley and we have also qualified for European competition for the past three seasons under his management. We wish him the best for the future.”

O’Neill, who took Leicester City to the Premier League in 1996 and also lifted two League Cups with them, went on to win three Scottish Premier League titles with Celtic as well as four cups before taking charge at Villa.

Richard Bevan, chief executive of the League Managers Association (LMA), said in a statement: “The LMA shares Martin’s disappointment at him leaving Aston Villa.

“He has achieved great success, not just with Villa, but throughout his managerial career. He is a great example to all aspiring managers.”

Here are some facts about the career of O’Neill, who was born on March 1, 1952, in Kilrea, Northern Ireland.

* Scouted as a teenager by Nottingham Forest in 1971, he became a regular fixture of Brian Clough’s midfield in a golden era for the club. Along with helping them to domestic honours, O’Neill played in one of their two European Cup final triumphs before moving to Norwich City and Manchester City.
* His international career, from 1972 to 1985, totalled 64 caps with Northern Ireland, memorably helping his team reach the second group stage of the World Cup in Spain in 1982.
* His coaching career began in semi-professional football in 1990 with Wycombe Wanderers, who won two consecutive promotions to go from the Conference to the third division and scoop two FA Trophy titles.
* O’Neill joined Leicester City in 1995 after only a few months at Norwich and in a five-year spell brought them promotion to the Premier League and two League Cup titles.
* He departs for another five-year stint, this time at Celtic, and wins the Scottish domestic Treble in his first season. They went on to win two more league titles and two more Scottish Cups, and to reach the 2003 UEFA Cup final, before he resigned in May 2005 to care for his wife Geraldine, who had a serious illness.
* He was considered as a potential successor to Sven-Goran Eriksson as manager of England in 2006 but stayed with Villa, guiding them to three successive sixth place finishes in the Premier League from 2008-2010. Villa reached their first final in 10 years but were beaten in the League Cup 2-1 by Manchester United in February

Pic: bestbe.com

Source: supersport.co.za

Rooney, who came on as a substitute for United’s other scorer Michael Owen, struck with a superbly executed header after 74 minutes, for his 20th goal in his last 20 matches, as United became the first team since Nottingham Forest (in 1989 and 1990) to win the cup in successive seasons.

Rooney, who started on the bench as he had a sore knee, told reporters: “It’s great to have this cup again, it means a lot to win a Wembley final and I am delighted to score the winner, but it’s another great day for the club and the fans.”

Aston Villa, the first winners of the trophy in 1961, and victors over Manchester United in 1994, took the lead after five minutes when James Milner scored from the penalty spot, but were often second best against a dominant United, who also hit the post twice.

Villa manager Martin O’Neill thought United defender Nemanja Vidic should have been sent off for his foul that led to the penalty.

He told reporters: “It was plain for all to see. It was an inexplicable decision. I don’t understand it.

“It’s a goal scoring opportunity. He’s felled in the penalty area. It’s straightforward from an otherwise fine referee who’s got it wrong.”

Owen brought United back into the game with a 13th minute equaliser, swept home with a sweet first touch that would have impressed the watching England manager Fabio Capello. However, he was forced off after 42 minutes with a hamstring injury.

United also went close to scoring when Ji-Sung Park hit the post and Rooney headed against the post two minutes after scoring. Villa also hit the woodwork when an Emile Heskey header bounced off the United bar late in the game.

Despite their undoubted superiority, the outcome might have been very different if Vidic had been dismissed for his challenge on Gabriel Agbonlahor, which led to Villa’s penalty.

Vidic tugged at Agbonlahor’s shirt and tripped him with an out-stretched leg. He was extremely fortunate not to be shown either a yellow or a red card by referee Phil Dowd.

Vidic said afterwards: “I don’t think I deserved a red card as I did not tackle him from behind, but I admit it was definitely a penalty. If you look at the TV you will be able to see the angle clearly and be able to judge it better.”

However, United were punished when Milner swept home the penalty, sending goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak the wrong way.

Agbonlahor continued to stretch the United defence, without injured centre-back Rio Ferdinand, every time Villa attacked, but while they could not add to their early goal, United did find a way through the Villa backline after 13 minutes.

Dimitar Berbatov took the ball out of Richard Dunne’s possession on the right flank and surged towards goal before Dunne recovered with a fine tackle, but sent the ball straight to Owen, who instinctively swept the ball into Brad Friedel’s bottom-right hand corner.

Seven of Rooney’s last eight goals have come from headers and Sunday’s latest effort was the perfect example of bravery under pressure as he powered the ball high into the net. The cross was a perfect one from Antonio Valencia, who was named as Man of the Match.

Villa tried desperately to equalise in the closing stages and went close twice, but in the end the better team won to secure their fourth victory in the competition and gave United manager Alex Ferguson the 44th major trophy of his managerial career.

Source + Pic: supersport.co.za

Second-placed Manchester United drew 1-1 at Aston Villa while Arsenal stayed in the hunt after beating Liverpool 1-0.

Saha, who scored against Chelsea in the FA Cup final last season and in the 3-3 draw against them in December, cancelled out Florent Malouda’s 17th minute opener for Chelsea with a header in the 33rd.

He then had a penalty saved by Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech on the stroke of halftime before scoring the winner after 75 minutes when he chested the ball down, turned and fired home.

That sent Chelsea to their first defeat in 11 matches and gave Everton manager David Moyes his first victory over the London side on the night he celebrated his 300th Premier League game.

Chelsea remain top with 58 points, but are just one point ahead of Manchester United, who drew at Villa despite playing for more than an hour with 10 men after Nani was sent off for a ragged two-footed challenge on Stilian Petrov.

Nani will now be suspended from the League Cup final against Villa at Wembley Stadium on February 28.

Arsenal ended a run of four league and cup matches without a win beating Liverpool 1-0 at the Emirates where Abou Diaby headed the only goal 18 minutes from time.

They are third on 52 points and Liverpool are fourth on 44.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger refused to rule his team out of contention for the title when he told Sky Sports News: “It was a massive win for us after the last two disappointments against Manchester United and Chelsea.

“We showed great solidarity against a very well organised team. It was a very tight game but we scored a very good goal and are still in the title race—why not ?” he said.

On balance it turned out to be a better night for Manchester United than they might have expected after going behind against Villa when Carlos Cuellar headed home after 19 minutes.

United equalised four minutes later when Nani’s cross from the right was volleyed back across goal by Ryan Giggs. The ball hit the right knee of James Collins and flew past Brad Friedel to give United their 10th own goal of the season.

United manager Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports: “We should have won the game, we were the better team—and with 10 men for a very long time, we still tried to get a result. The players were brilliant.”

Tottenham Hotspur lost 1-0 to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux. David Jones scored the only goal after 27 minutes as Wolves moved out of the relegation zone while Spurs stayed sixth on 43 points.

West Ham United also moved out of the bottom three following their 2-0 win over Birmingham City whose former owners David Sullivan and David Gold celebrated their first win since taking control at Upton Park.

Hull City lost 1-0 at Blackburn Rovers, slipping from 15th to 17th, just a point above the relegation zone.

Source + Pic: supersport.co.za

Midfielder Lucas glanced Young’s free kick into his own net 11 minutes before the interval and Davies made it two in added time.

Torres halved the deficit with 18 minutes left but after Steven Gerrard tripped Nigel Reo-Coker, Young made it three from the spot to make it two defeats from their opening three matches for the Reds.

It was also the first time since December 2007, when they were defeated 1-0 by Manchester United, that Liverpool were defeated in the Premier League at Anfield as Rafael Benitez’s side’s frustrations at home, where they drew seven matches last season, surfaced once again.

Liverpool piled forward from the start and Yossi Benayoun glanced a header wide from Torres’ lob into the area with just 34 seconds gone.

But Villa should have taken the lead when Nicky Shorey’s whipped cross was headed straight at Pepe Reina by the unmarked Davies.

In the ninth minute, it was Liverpool’s turn to fail to take a string of chances as Torres and Benayoun scuffed shots before Steven Gerrard’s effort was turned over by Brad Friedel.

The Reds continued to dominate and after patient possession around the edge of the area, Benayoun fed Gerrard, whose curling shot flew narrowly high and wide of Friedel’s goal.

But 11 minutes before the interval, Villa took a shock lead with a free kick 30 yards from goal.

Young curled an apparently innocuous effort towards goal but it glanced off the head of Lucas and into the Liverpool net.

The Reds looked for an immediate response as Glen Johnson broke into the box and laid off for Torres, whose shot on the turn was pushed away by Friedel.

But Villa looked even more dangerous on the break and after a quick counter-attack, Nigel Reo Coker’s low strike flew just wide of Reina’s post.

Liverpool’s frustrations were summed up when Javier Mascherano’s harmless shot from 30 yards was held by Friedel.

And as Villa continued to take every chance to get forward, Steve Sidwell’s cross was met by Shorey’s header only for Reina to save.

Sidwell had a shot deflected wide off Skrtel and in first-half added time, Shorey’s corner was headed in by Davies at the near post.

Benitez’s side were full of fire after the restart and Johnson’s impressive foot-work set up Gerrard, whose drive was pushed away by Friedel.

And the American goalkeeper did well again to block from a Mascherano block-buster as the Anfield side looked for a foot-hold in the game.

Dutch forward Dirk Kuyt then passed up a series of chances as Liverpool continued to pile forward.

He saw a header from Gerrard’s corner pushed over by Friedel and then hit the post with another header after Villa failed to clear.

The Reds thought they had got back in the game with 18 minutes left when Torres guided Emiliano Insua’s cross in off the bar.

But just a couple of minutes later, Villa restored their lead from the penalty spot.

As Reo-Coker burst into the area, he was tripped by Gerrard’s despairing lunge and Young sent Reina the wrong way with a powerful set-piece to put Villa back in control.

Torres and Johnson both went close but Liverpool slipped to a miserable defeat.

Source + Pic: supersport.co.za

United still have a game in hand but, having won 4-1 at Old Trafford last week, the Reds now have a better goal difference by two with eight games left.

Dirk Kuyt started the goal-spree with seven minutes gone and Albert Riera doubled the lead just after the half hour at Anfield.

England midfielder Gerrard added a third from the spot just before the interval and scored a fourth with a free-kick just after the restart.

The Liverpool captain scored a second penalty after goalkeeper Brad Friedel was sent off for a challenge on Fernando Torres as Villa’s winless run stretched to eight games.

Fifth-placed Villa remain three points behind Arsenal and a place in the top four is now looking beyond them.

Liverpool began with real purpose and from Fabio Aurelio’s corner, Friedel was forced to save from Martin Skrtel’s header with just a minute on the clock.

After Villa’s James Milner had a shot deflected wide, Liverpool took the lead with just seven minutes gone following Nigel Reo-Coker foul on Riera down the left flank.

Gerrard drove the ball into the area and Xabi Alonso’s header came back off the bar but Kuyt made no mistake with a powerful follow-up from six yards for his tenth goal of the season

With Gabriel Agbonlahor left on the bench, Villa had a strong spell and Pepe Reina pulled off an impressive stop from John Carew’s flick from Ashley Young’s cross from the left.

Midway through the opening period, another glancing header from Carew, this time from Reo-Coker’s lofted free-kick, was pushed away by Reina before Young hit the side-netting.

But just as Villa were looking threatening, Liverpool doubled their lead.

Gareth Barry’s curling free-kick was easily held by Reina and his long clearance bounced over the Villa defence before Riera hit a half-volley with his left foot that flew in off the bar.

Five minutes before the interval, Kuyt’s cross-field pass picked out Riera and the Spanish winger was tripped in the area by Reo-Coker and Gerrard sent Friedel the wrong way with his penalty to make it three.

Half-time brought only a little respite for Villa and five minutes after the restart they were four goals behind.

Carlos Cuellar chopped Kuyt down on the edge of the area and Alonso took the free-kick short for Gerrard to place the ball into the corner of Friedel’s goal.

As they looked for a response, James Milner’s drilled cross was headed straight at Reina by Emile Heskey.

But Liverpool were still not satisfied and after Alonso picked out Kuyt, he received the return ball on the edge of the box only to stab wide.

In the 65th minute, Alonso sent Torres clean through and after the Spaniard knocked the ball on, he collided with Friedel.

Referee Martin Atkinson gave a penalty and showed Friedel the red card. Gerrard stepped up to send Friedel’s replacement Brad Guzan the wrong way from the spot to complete his hat-trick.

Lucas missed from Riera’s cross as the Reds searched for a sixth goal and Torres was frustrated in his attempts to score.

But Liverpool were happy to play out time in the knowledge that the title race is now wide open.

Source: soccernews.com