The Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard hopes the team's crushing 4-1 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford will not only spur the Merseysiders on as they play catch-up at the top of the Barclays Premier League, but will also prove to other teams that the leaders can be beaten.
Rafael Benitez's side battled back from a goal down to defeat United in clinical fashion, Fernando Torres and Gerrard turning the match on its head before the break. Second half goals from Fabio Aurelio and Andrea Dossena and the dismissal of Nemanja Vidic made it a painful day for Sir Alex Ferguson's team. Gerrard said: "The important thing is that we have made the gap smaller [United lead by four points still with a game in hand]. We realise that Manchester United are a fantastic team and there's still a lot of work to do.
"We'll need a little bit of luck along the way but hopefully that win will give teams who are going to play against United a bit of belief that they can be beaten." The England midfielder was ecstatic to score his first goal at Old Trafford, but praised the team's performance as a whole for their second four-goal haul of the week. "I've been lucky enough to experience winning here before and that was also a magnificent feeling, but to score a goal after all the stick I've had from United fans over the past 10 years - well, it's nice to score and rub it in a bit. From front to back we worked very hard and showed great character after going a goal down."
The last time Manchester United conceded four goals at home was in 1992 when they lost by the same score to Queens Park Rangers. sports@thenational.ae