Kuyt decides Merseyside derby

Liverpool FC recovered from Sotiris Kyrgiakos's first-half dismissal to beat Everton 1-0 in Saturday's Merseyside derby at Anfield, with Dirk Kuyt scoring the only goal of the game ten minutes after the break.

Kyrgiakos's red card for a challenge on Marouane Fellaini left Rafael Benítez's side a man down after 34 minutes, but they got the better of a full-blooded contest as Kuyt got a head to a Steven Gerrard corner to score his 50th goal for the Reds. Liverpool comfortably contained Everton thereafter, with Steven Peinaar sent off for a second booking late on.

Manchester United FC made light work of struggling Portsmouth FC, with Wayne Rooney getting the first from Darren Fletcher's cross before Anthony vanden Borre miscued Nani's deliver past David James. Richard Hughes and Marc Wilson put further efforts past their own keeper after the break, either side of Dimitar Berbatov's goal for United.

United's victory was made a little sweeter by a shock 2-1 loss for their local rivals Manchester City FC at struggling Hull City AFC, while Burnley FC beat West Ham United FC by the same margin. Stoke City FC beat Blackburn Rovers FC 3-0, while a 1-1 draw between Sunderland AFC and Wigan Athletic FC did little to ease either side's relegation concerns.

Bolton Wanderers FC will feel little happier about their 0-0 draw against UEFA Europa League contenders Fulham FC. Tottenham Hotspur FC and Aston Villa FC also drew a blank in the evening's later game, a result which leaves Spurs a place below Liverpool in fifth.