Dirk Kuyt Bags Hat Trick over Manchester United as Liverpool Reopens Title Race

Well Dirk Kuyt, I guess you proved me wrong. Last week I said the Dutchman had looked a bit tired and his touch had been off of late, so I thought he’d benefit from a rest against Manchester United.

He started the game and scored the first hat trick from a Liverpool player in the North West Derby since Peter Beardsley did it in 1990 as Liverpool beat United at Anfield 3-1. There goes my logic.

Kuyt’s was somewhat of a poacher’s hat trick, but he and all Reds will take whatever they can get.

Luis Suarez continues to impress and show fantastic skill in each game he plays, and he did just that when going past three Manchester United defenders and keeper Edwin van der Sar to give Kuyt an easy tap-in for his first goal in the 33rd minute.

Kuyt got his second five minutes later when Nani inexplicably headed a cross from Suarez (who else?) back into his own area and right onto Kuyt’s gracious head.

After that is when things started to get a bit chippy. Jamie Carragher flew in and clobbered Nani needlessly and was probably very lucky to only see yellow. However, Nani didn’t endear himself to anyone by running over to referee Phil Dowd to complain and then fall back down in agony.

Just minutes later Rafael, filling in for John O’Shea at right back, flew into Lucas Leiva, albeit he just seemed to lose control. Players started going at it, and when all was said and done, Dowd had handed out two more yellows, to Rafael and Martin Skrtel, and the first half had lasted 50 minutes.

Sir Alex Ferguson will probably look to Carra’s yellow card as a reason for his side’s loss, but he really can’t blame the official in this game. Wait, what am I saying? He’s Sir Alex! He always finds someone undeserving to place blame on.

But really, the blame lies with his team. Ferguson was forced to put out Chris Smalling and Wes Brown as his central defenders thanks to injuries and suspension (Nemanja Vidic can be a real idiot sometimes), and the inexperience showed.

United’s back four were unorganized and frequently left Liverpool's midfielders unmarked in their penalty area.

Liverpool's and Kuyt’s third goal came off a Suarez free kick which Van der Sar spilled and only saw Kuyt, in true poacher’s form, there anticipating it. His defenders had just a little too much faith in him and weren’t there to back him up.

The defense wasn’t the only area United had problems with. Ryan Giggs is the only United midfielder you might recall seeing in the game as Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick were in the squad purely for decoration.

That’s better than Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney, though. They only came into the game when the Red Devils had to go for everything down 2-0 in the second half, and it was still ever so slightly then.

United's midfielders never ran forward in support, which was in stark contrast to the home side. Chicharito, who replaced the ailing Nani in the first half, scored a consolation for United in stoppage time, which will disappoint the likes of Pepe Reina and Carragher, but they’ll get over it.

Aside from the goal, United put pressure on Liverpool twice, both from corners, and Raul Meireles kicked it off the line both times. Reina was never really called into action.

Really, we all knew Liverpool had this in them, but we didn’t know United could play this poorly.

The Reds’ performance also meant the Kop got to see Andy Carroll for the first time, and he won each header that came his way after coming on to overjoyed applause in the 74th minute. The applause were even greater when his new strike partner Suarez was substituted in the 88th minute (no Joe Cole, those cheers weren’t for you).

Liverpool’s win opens the door for Arsenal, who could only muster a home draw against Sunderland Saturday, as the Gunners are now just three points behind United with a game in hand.

It might not be enough to give the Reds a push into the top four, but Tottenham and Chelsea have some tough games in front of them, so it’s certainly not done and dusted yet.

But this result really begs one question in particular.

How can Liverpool beat Manchester United so convincingly just a week after being run over by bottom-of-the-table West Ham?