Liverpool - Substitute John O'Shea hit a dramatic stoppage-time winner as 10-man Manchester United beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield to take a huge step towards securing the Premiership title on Saturday.

Former England midfielder Paul Scholes was shown the red card five minutes from time by referee Martin Atkinson after aiming a punch at Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso.

But Ireland international O'Shea pounced unmarked in the first minute of stoppage time after a free-kick by Cristiano Ronaldo to give Sir Alex Ferguson's leaders a crunch victory.

United had failed for long periods to produce the form which has taken them top of the summit yet they were denied what looked a certain penalty when Daniel Agger brought down French substitute Louis Saha in the 78th minute.

In addition they lost Wayne Rooney to injury after he was involved in a crunching challenge with England team-mate Jamie Carragher which has left the striker doubtful for Wednesday's Champions League tie with Lille on Wednesday.

With Barcelona coming to Merseyside in the Champions League on Tuesday, desperate to overturn Liverpool's 2-1 first-leg lead, Benitez had more reasons than ever to indulge in the kind of rotation that frustrates many of the club's supporters.

He made 99 consecutive team changes up until last October and many feel the early-season tinkering was partly to blame for a lack of consistency that meant his team's Premiership title challenge was over before it had begun, with Liverpool suffering five of their seven league defeats to date before mid-November, all away from home.

But these are not normal circumstances and, with Steven Gerrard having expressed his disgust at the idea of United "virtually" securing the title at Anfield, the Spaniard was in no mood to play into Ferguson's hands.

Xabi Alonso, Momo Sissoko, Dirk Kuyt and Craig Bellamy were all restored to the starting line-up, but there was no place for Javier Mascherano, the Argentinian, in Benitez's 16 man squad.

Bellamy had an effort ruled out for off-side
The return of those key players created the desired effect as the hosts made the brighter start with Agger going close from distance while Chile international Mark Gonzalez forced the game's first save after connecting with Steve Finnan's 16th minute cross.

Jose Reina did not have a save to make in a scrappy first-half although Ronaldo, with 16 Premiership goals to his name already this season, was threatening in spells and blazed his side's best chance before the break over the bar in the 23rd minute after good work by Henrik Larsson.

Liverpool continued to carve out the better chances in a fixture regarded as one of the most fiercely contested in the English calendar.

John Arne Riise, one of the goal heroes in Barcelona in February, almost found the net after letiing fly with another spectacular left-foot effort from 20-yards after good work by the busy Gonzalez in the 27th minute.

United fans had to wait two minutes before half-time for their team's first corner as the leaders struggled to impose themselves and it required a fine save by Edwin van der Sar to keep United level two minutes after the break.

A defence-splitting pass by Kuyt presented Bellamy with the chance of the game but the Welsh international was frustrated by United's Dutch keeper who stuck out a hand to prevent his goal-bound effort from crossing the line.

Moments later Bellamy had an effort ruled out for off-side while Riise went close again during a sustained spell of Liverpool pressure.

United, who had Ryan Giggs making his 700th appearance, were anything but their threatening best and Ferguson's frustration continued when Rooney limped off in the 72nd minute after being injured in a challenge with Carragher.

The game exploded in an amazing finale as Saha was upended by Agger in the 78th minute only for the referee to wave away United's appeals.

Then Scholes was red carded for swinging at (and missing) Alonso before O'Shea had the final say.

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No stopping Ronaldo as Man United crush Bolton

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo set up three goals and South Korea's Park Ji-sung scored two of them as Premier League leaders Manchester United romped to a 4-1 win over Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.

Ronaldo provided the cut-back for Park to score United's first after 14 minutes, put Wayne Rooney through for their second and then hit a shot which keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen spilled and Park tucked home in the 25th minute.

Ronaldo got a standing ovation from the Old Trafford crowd in the 70th minute when he was replaced by Alan Smith, who promptly set up Rooney for his second of the afternoon on the break.

Gary Speed scored Bolton's consolation goal from the penalty spot three minutes from the end as United notched their sixth consecutive league win.
The victory, which sent United nine points clear before second-placed Chelsea kicked off against Sheffield United, was marred though by the loss of United's England defender Gary Neville to an ankle injury after nine minutes.

United manager Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports News after the game that Neville would be out for three weeks with ankle ligament damage and would miss England's Euro 2008 qualifiers.

His absence will pose real selection problems for the watching England manager Steve McClaren, whose side face Israel next Saturday in Tel Aviv and Andorra four days later.

The injury was the only cloud over an imperious performance by United, and by Ronaldo in particular.
His scintillating pace and close ball control took him to the very limit of the bye-line after 14 minutes before he deftly picked out Park for a powerful sidefoot home.
He linked up superbly with Rooney minutes later as the two forwards surged forward on the counter-attack, feeding the ball through for the England striker to dink over Jaaskelainen and claim his 50th goal for United.

PARK POUNCES
Bolton's keeper could not hold a stinging Ronaldo shot shortly afterwards and Park was first to the loose ball, steering it into the gaping net.
Rooney rounded off the scoring with a calm finish after galloping through on the break, the early kickoff's one positive for McClaren.
Paying tribute to Ronaldo, Ferguson said: "His season has been incredible, you can't put one game in front of another as far as I'm concerned because he's given his all in every game
.
"Today, particularly in the second goal, the combination between him and Wayne Rooney -- and his weighted pass to Wayne to finish things off -- was tremendous."

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Wayne Rooney's miserable few days continued in the form of two glaring first-half misses, but with his team-mates in such form, coming from behind to beat Blackburn emphatically, he was able to disappear for fiancee Coleen McLoughlin's twenty-first birthday party last night with his club still well on course for the title.
Michael Carrick, Park Ji-Sung and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer provided the decisive goals that earned United three priceless Premiership points, but it was the performance of the player who scored the equaliser, Paul Scholes, which was the rallying point for United. Few, if any, observers noted Scholes's absence from the England team as a factor behind their abysmal form this week, but Steve McClaren will be well aware of how his team could have used his services.

Even United's current injury curse - Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic the latest to be lost with a shoulder injury that will sideline him for four to five weeks according to Sir Alex Ferguson - does not seem capable of applying the brakes to United's triumphal march towards yet more silverware.
'I think we looked like a championship side,' said Ferguson. 'You would expect a championship team to show that kind of nerve, determination, drive, resolve. We had all that today. Everything you are looking for in a football team was there. There are just seven games to go - that makes me nervous now. But, without question, that was one of our best performances of the season and throughout the game they had a lot of handicaps. They had just come back from internationals, they had to overcome being 1-0 down, so to keep making chances and to keep their nerve and show their composure was fantastic.'

All true, although for the first 45 minutes, it was a very different United display, and one that had Old Trafford legend Mark Hughes daring to dream of another Blackburn upset against his mentor. Matt Derbyshire compounded such belief before the half hour as Carrick turned Morten Gamst Pedersen's cross against his own keeper and post and the young forward reacted sharply to open the scoring.

But the second half? It was a different story, much to the frustration of Hughes. 'They are champions elect and they are good value for it,' said the Rovers boss. 'This year they have played the best football, the most expansive game, and this game was a key game for them. They sensed that, the crowd sensed that and they knew we would give them a real test today. I feel we did that, to a certain extent, and I feel from this point onwards they will go on and win it comfortably.'

United looked like a different team from the kick-off after the break, Scholes orchestrating play in the centre, Ronaldo tormenting Rovers down either flank and an equaliser soon looked a formality. Hughes' mood in conceding it would not have been improved, however, by Christopher Samba losing possession on the edge of his own area to Scholes after 61 minutes. The midfielder skipped past Ryan Nelsen and Stephen Warnock before finishing convincingly.

That goal was the catalyst United needed to go on to comfortable victory and, after Brad Freidel saved superbly from Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs then struck the bar with the goal at his mercy, the rout was on.

In the 73rd minute, Ronaldo surged past Tugay on the left and his cross reached Carrick at the back of the area, who had the presence to steady himself and score with a precision finish.

Ten minutes later, Ronaldo provided the creative spark once again - his thunderous free-kick being parried by Friedel for Park to slot in the rebound - and, in the final minute of normal time, substitute Solskjaer appeared unmarked on the end of Park's cross to fire home unopposed and wrap up an impressive victory for the hosts.

'The reason United are top of the league and champions-elect is that they are able to galvanise themselves when they are struggling,' added Hughes. 'When they are struggling to find a little bit of form, they are able to get themselves together and go again. That's certainly what they did in the second half.'

Still, there surely must be some concern over Rooney's form over the past eight days. Twice, with the score goalless, the young striker had only the excellent Friedel - a strong candidate for man of the match despite leaking four - to beat but struck the ball against the keeper on both occasions. If United are to win the treble, which Ferguson insists is only a distant possibility, Rooney will surely have to rediscover his form.

Domestically, for the time being, there is no such need with his team-mates playing in this manner.

Man of the match Paul Scholes

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Paul Scholes will be the key factor behind what, if any, silverware United win this season and this match proved why. After an uninspiring first-half performance by his team, the midfi elder got hold of the game by the scruff of the neck and claimed the crucial equaliser.


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