Liverpool do title chasers a favour as they crush United

Dirk Kuyt scored the easiest but the most memorable hat-trick of his career to give Liverpool a huge win over their bitter rivals at Anfield. Kuyt was in the right place at the right time all afternoon as the Reds ran out 3-1 winners.

Manchester United came into the game on a run of 3 defeats in 5 league games, which is not the Manchester United we have come to know, especially this season. Liverpool, since the arrival of Kenny Dalglish as manager, have risen up the table dramatically with 3 wins in their last 5 with one defeat, one of those wins at Stamford Bridge, which shows their improvement under Dalglish.

Liverpool seemed to run the show from start to finish, with United seemingly contributing to their own downfall. The first goal was all about Luis Suarez, who danced through 3 or 4 United defenders in the box before sliding the ball between Edwin Van Der Sar's legs for Kuyt to tap in on the line.

Kuyt sends the Liverpool fans into raptures on Sunday

The first goal seemed to really liven the game up, with Jamie Carragher lunging in on Nani, which sparked huge protests from the United players, but Carragher luckily stayed on the field. The second goal of the game came in the space of 5 minutes and ironically it was set up by Nani, but at the wrong end. He tried to head clear a cross from the right, but only managed to head back towards his own goal, leaving Kuyt with an easy header from 4 yards out.

Liverpool found themselves 2 to the good at half time, with Man United looking like a side who had run out of ideas. The pressure was on Sir Alex Ferguson as with Chelsea playing tomorrow, the gap between the top 4 was getting ever closer.

Just after the hour mark, the game was settled, as Steven Gerrard's free kick was parried at the near post by Van Der Sar, with Kuyt the only man in the box to react and left himself with the simplest of tap ins to hand him his first hat-trick for Liverpool. The Kop were going crazy as their team were 3 goals to the good over their bitter rivals.

Liverpool's record signing Andy Carroll made his long awaited debut for the Reds as he came on with 15 minutes to go. He received a standing ovation from the Liverpool faithful as he looks to become the next famous Liverpool number 9. However with the scoreline the way it was and the amount of time left in the game, he wasn't able to make an impact.

It's not like Manchester United not to have the last say on the day, as the increasingly impressive Javier Hernandez pulled a goal back in stoppage time with a slick angled header into Pepe Reina's far corner from six yards to give the United fans something to cheer about.

It was Liverpool's day and after a tough season so far, this result will make their fans very optimistic for next season. Their main aim this season would be to try and get into Europe, however, these are worrying times for United, as their recent form isn't that of champions, although, write Sir Alex's men off at your peril.