Away game 2nd lost in a-row. Still 1st Place.

Liverpool 3 United 1

United’s quest to regain the Barclays Premier League title suffered a second successive setback as Dirk Kuyt’s hat-trick gave Liverpool a deserved victory at Anfield.

The Dutch striker converted a quickfire pair of close-range chances, firstly hoofing home from the goalline after impressive skill from Luis Suarez, then nodding in following Nani's errant attempt to head away a cross.
United’s Portuguese winger was then carried off amid ugly scenes at the end of the first period, following a shocking high challenge from Jamie Carragher. The veteran defender was only booked, however, and was quickly followed by Edwin van der Sar, Rafael and Martin Skrtel into referee Phil Dowd’s notebook.
Although United rallied in the second half, Kuyt completed his hat-trick when he tapped home another close-range finish, this time after van der Sar had spilled Suarez’s free-kick. The Reds' only tangible reward came in injury-time, when Chicharito clinically nodded home Ryan Giggs' right-wing cross.
Sir Alex Ferguson again opted to field Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov in tandem upfront, flanked by wingers Giggs and Nani, with Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick in midfield.
With Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic absent through injury and suspension respectively, Wes Brown returned to the starting line-up alongside Chris Smalling. Rafael also came in at the expense of John O'Shea, while Patrice Evra recovered from injury to take his spot on the left flank.
For the hosts, Steven Gerrard played despite pre-match suggestions that he would be ruled out by a groin injury. Club record signing Andy Carroll, meanwhile, was named on the bench for the first time since his January arrival from Newcastle.
Liverpool made the brighter start to the game, and only poor control from Suarez prevented him from making the most of Raul Meireles’ drilled cross. Instead the ball bobbled through to van der Sar.
Though the hosts’ hassling and harrying allowed United little time to settle, Berbatov almost struck a spectacular opening goal just after the quarter-hour mark, clipping the outside of Pepe Reina’s post with an audacious swerving volley.
United slowly began to grow in stature, and again came close to taking the lead when Brown’s deflected header was cleared off the line by Meireles. Instead, Liverpool forged ahead after superb trickery from Suarez, who turned away from Smalling and Rafael, bypassed challenges from Carrick and Brown and squared for Kuyt to smash in a finish from the goalline.

Devil's disappointed at Anfield.

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Reds to assess Nani injury

A club spokeswoman confirmed on Sunday afternoon that the Portuguese winger suffered a "very deep gash" in his ft leg after Jamie Carragher's challenge shortly before half-time. The Liverpool defender was booked by referee Phil Dowd and Nani played no further part in the match. He was carried off the field on a stretcher and replaced by substitute Javier Hernandez who later scored United's only goal with a header in injury time.
While fans will naturally be worried about Nani - one of United's best players of the season so far - there was some encouraging news in that his fellow winger Antonio Valencia was part of the Reds' travelling party for the Liverpool game.
The Ecuadorian was not named among the seven substitutes by Sir Alex Ferguson but his presence at Anfield, combined with his recent return to full-contact training, suggests a comeback may be close.