Liverpool 5 - 0 Aston Villa

Liverpool are breathing down Manchester United's necks in the Barclays Premier League title race after destroying fifth-placed Aston Villa 5-0.

It was the third stunning Liverpool victory in 12 days, having previously put four past Real Madrid and Manchester United.

The champions' lead is now one point - they also have a game in hand - but Liverpool have now scored more goals than Sir Alex Ferguson's men and have also wiped out their goal-difference advantage.

Villa had no answer to a side with a driven desire to take the title from under United's noses.

Steven Gerrard scored a hat-trick with a free-kick and two penalties, with the latter one following the dismissal of goalkeeper Brad Friedel for bringing down Reds striker Fernando Torres.

In the first-half Dirk Kuyt and Albert Riera had scored, before Gerrard took over with his set-piece onslaught.

Liverpool had Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa back from respective ankle and hamstring injuries that ruled them out of last weekend's win at Manchester United, with Sami Hyypia and Lucas relegated to the bench.

They were joined there by defender Daniel Agger, who has only played one game since mid-December after a variety of injury problems.

Villa boss Martin O'Neill left out striker Gabriel Agbonlahor, who has scored only twice since before Christmas and was booed by his club's own fans last weekend. Defender Zat Knight was also on the bench, with John Carew and Curtis Davies back in the side.

There was still a solemn start to the proceedings, with a minute's silence following the death yesterday of 56-year-old club secretary Bryce Morrison, after he had flown back from the Champions League draw in Switzerland.

Morrison, who had worked at Anfield for 17 years, suffered a heart attack at home. Both teams wore black armbands.

The game got off to a blistering start, and after eight minutes Liverpool were ahead.

Alonso's header from Gerrard's free-kick cracked against the bar, and Dirk Kuyt reacted quickest to blast the ball home from 12 yards.

At the other end Ashley Young's cross arrowed in from the left and Carew's flick at the near post almost caught out Jose Reina - but the goalkeeper tipped the ball over the angle.

The contest was ferocious, and Gerrard was then rightly booked for a fierce, late, challenge on Davies.

Then Reina made another outstanding save to his left to claw away a towering header from Carew - who played under Benitez at Valencia.

Liverpool were relentless and after 33 minutes they claimed a second goal.

Reina's 80-yard clearance was allowed to bounce once on the edge of the area by a Villa defence pre-occupied with Torres and Riera took full advantage by smashing the dropping ball high into the net.

It could have been three when Arbeloa intercepted a bad Friedel clearance inside the Villa box, but he chose to pass to Torres rather than shooting himself.

But the third was not long coming. After 39 minutes Riera controlled a searching crossfield pass from Kuyt, and was brought down in the box by Nigel Reo-Coker. Gerrard smashed home the spot-kick.

Any thoughts of a Villa revival were crushed after 50 minutes when Carlos Cuellar brought down Kuyt on the edge of the box and Gerrard drilled the free-kick low to Friedel's left and into the bottom corner.

Former Reds striker Emile Heskey had a header held by Reina, but was by now being employed on the left trying to halt Arbeloa and Kuyt's flow down the flank - with Young switched to a central attacking role.

The ploy did not last long - Agbonlahor replaced Heskey after 58 minutes, with Young back on the line- but things got worse for Villa after 63 minutes when Friedel was dismissed for clashing with Torres and Gerrard drilled home the fifth past Villa's reserve keeper Brad Guzan.

Lucas, Agger and David Ngog replaced Alonso, Arbeloa and Gerrard in the closing minutes of a comprehensive victory.

Man City 1 - 0 Sunderland

Sunderland remain in the thick of the desperate struggle to escape relegation from the Barclays Premier League after the bravery of their 10 men went unrewarded in a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City.

Micah Richards' second-half header proved enough, with goalkeeper Marton Fulop preventing City increasing their advantage with a string of fine saves near the end in addition to a Robinho penalty save.

But try as Sunderland might, they were always in trouble once George McCartney had been red carded for a professional foul on Shaun Wright-Phillips after just 15 minutes.

And, just three points above local rivals Newcastle, who occupy that nightmare spot of third bottom, the Black Cats are certainly in need of some good fortune.

The dogfight at the bottom has been so tight for so long, Sunderland have always felt they were in the thick of it.

Nevertheless, they adopted a refreshingly offensive approach, based around the tireless work of Kenwyne Jones, hoping to profit from an injury-hit City side lacking Stephen Ireland and Wayne Bridge.

Just to reinforce the feeling of change, Valeri Bojinov was also included in a Blues starting line-up for the first time since August 2007, the intervening period filled with injury and misery for the Bulgarian, once the youngest foreigner ever to star in Serie A.

Bojinov made a pleasing contribution in an open encounter before the whole dynamic of the game was changed in a mad three-minute spell as the quarter of an hour mark was reached.

Wright-Phillips had definitely got in front of McCartney in the chase to reach Elano's through ball. There was little doubt either the England winger would have been clean through.

Of more debate, certainly as far as Sunderland were concerned was the strength of the contact that forced Wright-Phillips to pull up as Fulop came to collect.

Referee Steve Tanner felt it was enough to merit a foul. It took assistant Mo Matadar to confirm the need for a red card.

Although Bojinov curled the free-kick over, City were presented with an even better opportunity to exploit their extra man on their next attack when Steed Malbranque upended Micah Richards, who had burst forward on the overlap.

For a player of Robinho's class, confidence should not be a problem in such situations.

But his trademark shuffle as he strode up, put doubt only in his mind. The shot that followed was weak and Fulop, a conclusive winner of that mind-game battle, made the easiest of saves.

After such a frenzy of incident, the game took a bit of time to draw breath. Yet Sunderland were not content just to sit back and soak up pressure.

If Jones' admirable industry had been matched by a bit more precision from his team-mates, the Black Cats might have presented their hosts with a stern examination.

Instead, City carried most of the attacking threat even if, aside from Robinho's penalty, they created nothing better against 10 men than they had done when Wright-Phillips had ended a splendid one touch move by lobbing narrowly wide when Sunderland still had the full compliment on the field.

The onus was clearly on the hosts to attack and Richards decided it was time to take centre stage.

Good enough to become the youngest defender in England history and win 11 caps during Steve McClaren's ill-fated reign, Richards has lost his way over the past 18 months, so much so that thoughts of going to a World Cup under Fabio Capello seem pretty remote.

But the defender is still only 20 and now slotted back into the right-back position McClaren used to favour, the youngster roared forward with gusto, as if Sunderland were the team to take all his frustration out on.

Opportunities created for Wright-Phillips and Elano were both squandered - the former woefully, the latter agonisingly as a delicate flick rolled wide - so it was just as well Richards had found the net himself, rising to guide Elano's free-kick over the line just before Robinho could prod home.

It was his first goal for two-and-a-half seasons and only the third of a career that was launched with an 'F-word reaction' to a last minute FA Cup equaliser in only his fourth game at Aston Villa in February 2006.

Unfortunately for Richards, his day ended early as he limped off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, which cast a cloud on an otherwise impressive day.