Juan Mata's excellent brace helped Manchester United to a 2-1 victory at Liverpool as substitute Steven Gerrard was shown a straight red card within seconds of his introduction.
United looked much the better team during the early stages, and they seized the advantage on 14 minutes when Ander Herrera's fine throughball found Mata, who fired a shot past Simon Mignolet and in off the post.
Liverpool might well have been level 10 minutes before the break when Daniel Sturridge's lay-off found Adam Lallana in space in the box, but the midfielder failed to hit the target.
Gerrard was introduced as a half-time substitute for Lallana, but he lasted less than a minute before being sent off for stamping on Ander Herrera.
The 10 men soon fell further behind as, just before the hour mark, Mata produced a scissor kick from Angel Di Maria's chip to send the ball into the far corner.
However, Liverpool still managed to claw their way back into the game when Daniel Sturridge managed to squeeze a shot past David De Gea at the near post.
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