Liverpool 1 - Manchester United 2: Gerrard sees red as Mata double hands Van Gaal victory

Where the Liverpool captain veered from the script was by scarring only the right shin of Ander Herrera as his last ever appearance against bitter rivals, who now boast a healthy advantage in the chase for fourth place, was snuffed out after only 38 seconds.

This was another of those personal moments of torment for Gerrard, the kind that have routinely blighted an Anfield career that could have just six games left to run when he returns from a three-match suspension in mid-April.

There will be none of the soul-searching which followed the late traumas of last season of which United’s supporters had gleefully reminded him with the cutting chant, “You nearly won the league.” Yet it was hard to shake this was another pivotal afternoon which will have far-reaching repercussions. After the slip came the stamp.

The abuse Gerrard has come to live with. What will have riled him more will have been the frustration of being left on the sidelines to begin with and the sight of Liverpool being out-played and out-fought by a United team, who led at half-time following the first of two exquisite Juan Mata goals.

Gerrard, unwilling to give an inch, pinged a trademark cross-field pass then thundered into a tackle after being sold short by Joe Allen. That left Mata in a heap and brought a roar from the belly of The Kop that reverberated around the ground.

A duel with Herrera then ensued with Gerrard planting his left leg on the Spaniard’s shin in the aftermath and leaving his opponent squirming in pain. It was timed at 45 minutes and 22 seconds with the kerfuffle which erupted only delaying referee Martin Atkinson from brandishing a red card.

The mea-culpa in front of the Sky cameras for letting his team-mates down hogged the post-match limelight, though Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers’ priority will be to work out why Gerrard had needed to don his cape and come on at half-time anyway to try and launch another recovery.

Liverpool have become intoxicated on their own publicity since losing 3-0 at Old Trafford in December, generating momentum with 33 points from a possible 39 and revelling in their resurgence. A first defeat since then should serve as a sobering reminder there is plenty of improving required.

Indeed, there is pressure on Rodgers to now fathom the master-plan that ensures they emerge from The Emirates unscathed at the very least in their next outing.

It was the deployment of Raheem Sterling as a central striker against United almost four months that Rodgers credits with having pointed his side in the right direction again, so to see him start at right wing-back and finish at left-back represents a waste of the youngster’s talents.

Sterling was as poor as the team-mates next to him yesterday, but he appears to be being shunted around to accommodate Adam Lallana who was replaced by Gerrard. It could now come down to a choice between the two.

“We played them off the pitch in the first half,” was part of Louis van Gaal’s summation afterwards and it was as accurate as the passes pinged between Michael Carrick and Herrera and Mata as Liverpool chased shadows.

Marouane Fellaini continued his improvement; a focal point deployed further forward whose bruising presence too often cowed his opponents into submission.

That United have begun to look more like their old selves with Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao restricted to cameos, and Robin van Persie absent altogether, illustrates how blend and balance is as important as the size of a club’s bank balance.

It was one thing to be confronted by opponents offering acres of space in which to play, but credit Herrera for threading an inch-perfect pass into the path of Mata in the 14th minute.

There was a touch to control the ball before a right foot finish was expertly dispatched, brushing Simon Mignolet en route, hitting the post and then the back of the net.

The sight of Alberto Moreno struggling to get back should be galling given he was also out of position when United scored their opening goal when the sides last met.

And yet compared to what was to follow, the finish looked straight-forward. Mata has largely struggled in a United shirt, though yesterday he was everything they have ever wanted to him to be; a fact confirmed in the 59th minute.

Mata played a one-two with Di Maria and if the weight of the pass back to him was sumptuous then the left foot, acrobatic volley which arrowed into the corner of the net was a lesson in technique and talent.

While Liverpool’s 10-men responded with Daniel Sturridge beating David de Gea at his near-post, the only escapes they subsequently managed did not bring the one they truly craved.

Substitute Mario Balotelli was held back by his own supporters as a flare-up with the excellent Chris Smalling spilled onto the advertising hoardings and Martin Skrtel avoided punishment when appearing to leave a foot in on the United goalkeeper in the final skirmishes.

In between, Mignolet saved Wayne Rooney’s injury-time penalty after Emre Can had hampered Danny Blind’s progress.

After the red mist, the sight of red rivals edging out of sight will concern Liverpool.

Liverpool (3-4-2-1): Mignolet 7; Can 6, Skrtel 6, Sakho 7; Sterling 5, Henderson 5, Allen 5, Moreno 5 (Balotelli 65 6); Lallana 5 (Gerrard 46), Coutinho 6; Sturridge 6.

Booked: Allen, Balotelli

Sent-off: Gerrard

Goal: Sturridge (69)

Next Up: Arsenal (a) PL April 4

Manchester United (4-2-3-1): De Gea 6; Valencia 6, Smalling 8, Jones 7, Blind 7; Herrera 7 (Falcao 83), Carrick 7; Mata 9, Fellaini 7, Young 6 (Di Maria 55 7); Rooney 6.

Booked: Herrera, Jones

Goal: Mata (14, 59)

Next Up: Aston Villa (h) PL April 4

Referee: Martin Atkinson (Bradford)

Stat of the day: Steven Gerrard’s red card his seventh for Liverpool and his first since being sent-off in an FA Cup defeat to Manchester United in January 2011.