All clubs go through dry patches 沒有任何成就的一段時(shí)間 now and then, but the last month has been torture 痛苦的折磨 for Liverpool fans. Their team lost four games on a trot 一連串的 – their worst series of results since 1987.

Player injury, low morale and sheer bad luck led to daily headlines in UK newspapers speculating 揣測 whether manager Rafael Benitez had a future at Anfield 安菲爾德（利物浦隊(duì)主場）.

The Reds put all of that behind them 將其拋之腦后 in the most emphatic 強(qiáng)有力的 way possible on Sunday. They beat their arch-rivals 勁敵 Manchester United 2-0 in front of a euphoric 興奮的 home crowd.

United arrived at the game in gleeful spirits 幸災(zāi)樂禍的 with fans throwing beach balls onto the pitch to remind Liverpool of their .

But Liverpool dominated the game, working United's keeper Van der Sar throughout the first half. Van der Sar leapt brilliantly to keep out Aurelio’s free kick in the 14th minute and recovered 恢復(fù)/追回 in time to keep out Kuyt's effort from the rebound 反彈.

Kuyt and Aurelio had further chances, but it was left to Fernando Torres to give Liverpool the goal they desperately needed. The Spanish star showed incredible pace 速度 and precision 精確度 to slip past Ferdinand and lay the ball high behind Van der Sar.

The stadium erupted 爆發(fā)出 into cheering so loud one can almost imagine it carrying all the way to Manchester. Yet Benitez remained remarkably composed 不露聲色的. Later he told the BBC "I was enjoying it on the inside".

When he said that Torres "made the difference" he meant that Torres' goal turned a draw or possible loss into a victory for Liverpool.

The Kopites' 利物浦球迷的綽號 cheers quickly turned to jeers 起哄 as Manchester boss Sir Alex Ferguson ordered former 前任 Liverpool striker Michael Owen onto the pitch.

Owen almost silenced the taunts 嘲弄 when he set up 設(shè)計(jì) Valencia, but the shot smashed against the bar. It was United’s final proper chance.

Liverpool substitute Ngog put the seal on victory with a goal five minutes into extra time. The Reds' keeper Pepe Reina raced down the pitch to celebrate with Ngog – a sign of just how much was riding on 取決于 this victory for the Reds.

After the match, Ferguson conceded that his team’s performance had been "disappointing" but pointed to 把…歸因于 the strange atmosphere at Anfield on the day. By the "wounded animal aspect 因素 to the game" Ferguson implied that there was a desperation to Liverpool’s play and the crowd’s temper that was intimidating令人畏懼的 to United.

Ferguson also suggested that the pressure from the home crowd may have clouded 干擾 referee Andre Marriner's decision-making.

Sir Alex Ferguson was recently charged by the Football Association following remarks he made about the fitness of another referee, Alan Wiley.