Manchester, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Steven Gerrard converted a pair of penalty kick on Sunday to lift Liverpool to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The Merseyside club entered Sunday's clash well rested and in fine form, having not played since a March 1 3-0 result over Southampton at St Mary's Stadium.
The Reds had the better of the play early on and snagged the lead in the 34th minute after Luis Suarez beat United defender Rafael in the penalty area with a deft touch and the ball popped up to strike Rafael's hand, resulting in a penalty kick.
Gerrard stepped up and fired it past United goalkeeper David De Gea for his first goal of the day.
Liverpool doubled its advantage just moments into the second half as Joe Allen was brought down in the box by Phil Jones and referee Mark Clattenberg pointed to the spot again
Gerrard finished his double with a second penalty strike for the two-goal advantage.
The Liverpool captain then had an opportunity to make history as he stepped up for a third penalty kick in the 77th minute following a rash tackle from Nemanja Vidic. Gerrard would have become the first player in Premier League history to score a hat trick with three penalty kick, but his effort clanged off the left post.
Despite the miss, the Reds put the result away six minutes from time when Luis Suarez was played through by Daniel Sturridge and the Uruguay international smashed it home to send the Reds back to second place in the table on 62 points, four behind leaders Chelsea.
Manchester United were stifled all afternoon by the Liverpool defense and only managed one shot on target to suffer their fifth home defeat of the campaign.
Arsenal 1, Tottenham 0
London, England - Tomas Rosicky scored two minutes into proceedings on Sunday to hand Arsenal a 1-0 victory over Tottenham-Hotspur in the North London derby at White Hart Lane.
After being dispatched by Bayern Munich in the Champions League in midweek, Arsenal were determined to find a quick start against their bitter rivals and Rosicky provided that spark.
Coming down the right flank, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain laid the ball off to an on-rushing Rosicky, who ripped a strike on goal that beat Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to the top left corner.
Spurs controlled most of the play, keeping 59 percent of possession and mustering 17 shot attempts, but they were never able to break down a stout Arsenal back line.
The result sees the Gunners rise to third place in the Premiership table, while Tottenham remains in fifth place, seven points behind Manchester City for the final Champions League place.
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