United cut a strangely subdued look as second half goals from Fernando Torres and David Ngog at Anfield on Sunday condemned the champions to their first defeat in 12 matches.

Ferguson was forced to admit United had been out-played and out-fought. But the United manager believes the frustration of a result which allowed Chelsea to move two points ahead of them at the top of the table is certain to prove the catalyst for a powerful winning run.

While any defeat against the team United hate the most will always stick in Ferguson’s throat, the Scot knows his side were beaten twice by Rafa Benitez’s men last season and still ended the campaign as champions.

They bounced back from a 4-1 defeat to the Reds at Old Trafford in March by surging to the finish line in the title race and Ferguson expects more of the same this time.

“We will always react. That is the important thing about our club,” Ferguson said.

“They have always had to do that. It is not something unusual for us. At some points of your season you are going to have disappointments.

“Last year we lost 4-1 at home to Liverpool, got hold of the bit again and went on to win the league and that is our challenge.”

After four successive defeats, Liverpool knew another loss would end their title hopes, so it was no surprise that Javier Mascherano, Fabio Aurelio and Lucas snapped into tackles with abandon.

But United midfielders Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes were overwhelmed and Ferguson conceded they offered little in the way of a response to the physical challenge.

Torres opened the scoring in the 65th minute when he got clear of Rio Ferdinand and lashed home a sublime finish.

A bad day for United got even worse when Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic, already on a booking, was dismissed for a clear professional foul on Dirk Kuyt – his third successive red card against Liverpool.

David Ngog added Liverpool’s second goal in stoppage time and Gary Neville, an unused substitute, appeared to exchange words with home fans near the dug-out as United’s frustration boiled over.

“All in all Liverpool were the better team and created more chances,” Ferguson said. “They deserved their victory. We created few chances. We have let ourselves down with our penetration.

“I think we got caught up in the atmosphere and the wounded animal aspect of it.

“Their fans were fanatical and every decision they put the referee under pressure all the time.”

Ferguson felt referee Andre Marriner had been unable to cope with the red-hot atmosphere and slammed the official for failing to award a first half penalty for Jamie Carragher’s foul on Michael Carrick.

Marriner, who did sent off Reds midfielder Javier Mascherano in stoppage time, also only showed a yellow card to Carragher when, with the score still just 1-0, he hauled down Michael Owen as the former Liverpool striker threatened an equaliser.

“I felt Carrick in the first half was a penalty and of course the controversial one that everyone will be talking about was when Carragher brought Michael Owen down on the edge of the box,” Ferguson said.

“He is their most experienced and best defender and if he goes off at that stage it would have difficult for them.

“When Vidic got his first booking he committed a foul but won the second ball and that’s what the referee booked him for. The crowd got him booked.

“On the second booking, I don’t think it was a vicious foul, it was obstruction more than anything. The fact he has been booked puts the referee under pressure.

“That atmosphere is hard to handle for the referee. Whether he had enough experience I don’t know but he will certainly learn from it.”

LIVERPOOL (AFP)

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Benitez’s team ended a run of four successive defeats in emphatic fashion as second half goals from Fernando Torres and David Ngog breathed new life into a campaign that was in danger of spiralling out of control.

The Reds are still six points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea but that gap looks far less daunting than the 10-point divide that would have stood between them and United if the champions had won at Anfield on Sunday.

Most importantly, the win over their bitter rivals eases the pressure on Benitez, who, as Liverpool’s results went from bad to worse over the last month, had come under greater scrutiny that at any time during his five-year reign.

Instead of presiding over Liverpool’s worst spell for 56 years – his fate if United had won – Benitez can now justifiably talk of a brighter future.

“We needed to win for the confidence, so I think it will be a big boost for the team,” he said.

“All the players didn’t want to lose. They wanted to show character and this was the perfect response.

“It was against a good team so the fans are delighted and then you can see all the players feel the same way. It has to be positive.

“Hopefully this will be a turning point. If we can keep the momentum I am sure we have a good team and can win some games in a row.

“We need to win against Arsenal in the League Cup on Wednesday and continue against Fulham on Saturday.”

Benitez deserves tremendous credit for keeping his players focused while the flak was flying this week. Not only did the Spaniard ensure they kept their eye on the ball but he also came up with the perfect gameplan to subdue United.

His fiesty midfield trio of Javier Mascherano, Lucas and Fabio Aurelio never let United settle, while Yossi Benayoun and Dirk Kuyt provided astute support for Torres.

Few strikers in Europe could have taken the chance Torres converted in the 65th minute when he took Benayoun’s pass and left Rio Ferdinand for dead before lashing past Edwin van der Sar.

Nemanja Vidic’s red card for a professional foul on Dirk Kuyt added to United’s misery and Ngog finished off the champions in stoppage time after Mascherano had been dismissed for a second booking.

Yet without Torres the result could still have had a less appetising look for Benitez, who took a last minute decision to start the striker on the coach journey to Anfield.

Torres had missed the last two matches with a groin strain and he was only able to take part in a couple of light training sessions ahead of the United game.

But, with Steven Gerrard already ruled out with a groin injury, Benitez realised it was worth gambling over Torres’s fitness.

“It was difficult because he was not training much, he only had two light sessions and we couldn’t push him too hard,” Benitez said.

“I decided to play him from the beginning on Sunday morning after talking with Fernando on the coach to the game.

“Talking with him and the fitness coach we thought it was better to start him.

“You could see he was not 100 percent but sometimes 80 percent of Fernando can make the difference.”

Losing four times in the league this season still leaves Liverpool with plenty to do before they can dream of a first title since 1990.

But Benitez knows beating United will buy him precious time to get things right.

“I’m really pleased for the club, for the players and for all the staff,” Benitez added.

“We knew we needed to change the luck and we needed to win. It was a fantastic win. Before we were sayng maybe it was the perfect game.

“We needed to perform against a good team in front of our fans. It was a fantastic performance.”

LIVERPOOL (AFP)

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Mark Hughes’s side threw away a two-goal advantage, handed to them by Joleon Lescott and Martin Petrov as impressive finishes from Damien Duff and Clint Dempsey helped the visitors gain a remarkable point in an enthralling encounter Premier League on Sunday.

All the action and talking points were condensed into one 20 minute spell after the break when firstly Bobby Zamora missed a staggeringly simple chance before City took their two goal lead – and then immediately squandered it.

Diomany Kamara had worked his way into the box to find Dempsey and although Shay Given did well to save his shot, the ball bobbled free to Zamora who somehow blasted over when he had the goal at his mercy.

But Hodgson was keener to discuss the positives of the result, despite admitting Zamora’s error will grab the headlines.

“It was a horrific miss,” he said. “But it’s a pity because Bobby played so well and unfortunately people who watch the match on TV will see the miss.

“But what they won’t see is the other 96 minutes and 45 seconds in which he was absolutely magnificent for us.

“His target-play was magnificent, he held the ball up well, he brought people into the game.

“You know when we come here that you have to work hard defensively and we did that,” Hodgson added.

“Full credit to the players, we came back again, scored two good goals and I think we can say that after the 97 minutes, which was a long match, we worked hard enough and deserved our result.”

Soon after Zamora’s error Lescott nudged home from less than a metre out before Petrov provided City?s second to seemingly end this match as a competitive fixture.

But Duff then intervened with a fine drive past a helpless Given from the edge of the box just two minutes after Petrov’s goal and then Dempsey brilliantly guided a Jonathan Greening delivery into the back of the net to truly stun City just 90 seconds later.

Both sides went frantically looking for a winner but it would not arrive.

City will see this result as a huge opportunity missed because a win would have sent them third in the Premier League whereas Fulham will just be delighted they managed to salvage anything from the encounter at all.

“At 2-0 we should see the game out comfortably but we have allowed them back into the game,” Hughes said. “But credit to them. Probably the two games we have had the most difficulty here have been against Fulham.

“They get everyone behind the ball and make it difficult for the opposition.

“We started really well [this season] in terms of defensive work but we have conceded goals and we are working hard on that.

“There are always areas and elements of our that we need to focus on and we do that as a matter of course,” Hughes added. We will hopefully learn from the mistakes we made.”

MANCHESTER, England (AFP)

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While United overcame Rio Ferdinand’s howler in a 4-3 win over City in the Manchester derby, the England centre back’s lack of pace and cutting edge cost Alex Ferguson’s side dearly against Liverpool.

The ease with which a half-fit Fernando Torres got away from Ferdinand to score Liverpool’s opening goal will have raised not only Ferguson’s eyebrows, but also given Fabio Capello a headache.

Is Ferdinand, who has looked completely at sea in the heart of United’s defence this season and had a nightmare of a game in England’s 1-0 defeat by Ukraine, going through just a temporary loss of form or are his best days behind him?

Ferguson has no world class cover for Ferdinand in his squad and his decision to let Gerard Pique return to Barcelona after United’s 2008 Champions League triumph might come back to haunt him. That is if it hasn’t already…Pique stopped United from taking the lead in the 2009 final while Ferdinand was at fault for Barcelona’s second goal in the 2-0 defeat by the Spanish champions.

England’s potential rivals in the 2010 World Cup will also be rubbing their hands over Ferdinand becoming a liability and while Capello must hope he rediscovers his form, the Italian might also want to consider an alternative partner to John Terry in the centre of England’s defence.

PHOTO: Liverpool’s Fernando Torres (front) outmuscles Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand to score during their English Premier League match at Anfield, Oct 25, 2009. REUTERS/Phil Noble

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Campbell capitalized when a pair of defenders stumbled over one another and finished easily, negating an 19th-minute tally by Michael Built. Andrew Mine was able to hold the ball and feed Built, who finished from near the penalty spot.

Both sides had second-half opportunities but Costa Rica had significantly more possession and twice as many chances, outshooting New Zealand 21-9 in the match.

“I think that every first game in a World Cup is a good game,” Costa Rica coach Juan Diego Samuel said. “Without thinking of winning or losing all the players are very anxious. I think we did a good job. We had a good game, we could have won the game but we are satisfied with the tie.”

Costa Rica next plays on Wednesday against Turkey, which won its opener 1-0 over Burkina Faso.

ENUGU, Nigeria

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All goals at the match between Porto and Academica were scored in the last 25 minutes. Mariano opened the scoring in minute 65, for Ernesto Farias to hit the target two minutes later, 2-0.

Miguel Pedro then pulled one back for the guests on 76 minutes, but Farias netted another five minutes later, restoring the original advantage. A late goal from Academica’s Modou Sougou set the score to 3-2.

Porto remain at three points from Sporting Braga, who may still have to share their lead after Benfica’s game with Nacional on Monday.

Jonathan Roorda

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Leaders Club Brugge visited last-placed Roeselare and went ahead through Ivan Perisic in the 37th minute, for Ronald Vargas to add another two minutes later.

A penalty goal from Bjarni Vidarsson gave Roeselare new hope on 52 minutes, but Dorge Kouemaha restored the two-goal gap six minutes after the hour. A late goal from Mahamadou Dissa wasn’t enough for Roeselare to threaten Brugge’s lead.

Brugge played most of the second half with a man less, as Michael Klukowski was sent off in minute 51.

RSC Anderlecht earned a 0-2 win at Mechelen. Romelo Lukaku opened the scoring in the 11th minute, and Mbark Boussoufa doubled the advantage three minutes before the hour.

Club Brugge remain in first place with 27 points from 12 games, one point more than second-placed Anderlecht.

Jonathan Roorda

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At only a few spots from the relegation zone, most of the pressure was on River to deliver a good performance in this match. Boca on the other hand, needed a win to limit the gap with the top of the Argentinian Primera Division.

River Plate were first to find the net at their own Estadio Monumental, with Marcelo Gallardo beating Boca keeper Abbondanzieri after 39 minutes.

Both teams had a player sent off in the first minutes of the second half. River’s Cristian Villagra conceded a second yellow card in minute 46, and Julio Caceres of Boca followed with a direct red card four minutes later.

Three minutes after the hour mark, it was former Villarreal player Martin Palermo to level the score for Boca.

The draw leaves Boca in tenth place at five points from joint leaders Estudiantes, Banfield and Newell’s Old Boys, while River Plate are in 16th place with just seven points from ten games.

Jonathan Roorda

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The Sao Paulo derby started well for Santos, who went ahead through Andre in the 5th minute. Hernanes leveled six minutes later, but Rodrigo Souto restored Santos’ lead in minute 25.

Washington (38th) and Jorge Wagner (59) then turned things around for Sao Paulo, but the hosts then set the score to 3-3 with an equaliser from Robson, six minutes after the hour.

The winning goal came from Sao Paulo goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni in the 68th minute. The keeper went from hero to villain when given a red card nine minutes later, but substitute goalie Denis made sure that Santos wouldn’t score another goal.

Palmeiras lead the Brazilian Serie A with nine games to go, and have one point more than Atletico Mineiro. Internacional and Sao Paulo follow at another point.

Jonathan Roorda

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Fans at Istanbul’s Sükrü Saracoglu stadium first celebrated after 13 minutes, when Alex gave the home side a 1-0 lead. Eight minutes after the break, the Brazilian made it 2-0 from the penalty spot.

Hakan Balta pulled one back to give Galatasaray new hope in the 57th minute, but Spanish striker Daniel Guiza had the final say, 3-1 in minute 90.

Galatasaray hadn’t won an away match at Fenerbahce since 1999, a streak that won’t be ended this season.

Fenerbahce remain in first place, five points ahead of Bursaspor and Galatasaray. Bursaspor convincingly beat Istanbul 6-0 on Saturday.

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